Yahoo Finance Thermo Fisher (TMO) Partners With Pfizer to Expand NGS Testing
Thermo Fisher Scientific TMO recently announced a collaboration with Pfizer to increase local access to next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based testing for lung and breast cancer patients. The collaboration will focus on expanding testing capabilities in more than 30 countries across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where access to affordable advanced genomic testing has been previously limited or unavailable.
The joint effort of both companies upholds the prospect of bringing rapid NGS testing to an increased number of decentralized labs near the locations of patients undergoing cancer diagnosis.
Significance of the Partnership
Cancer has been the leading cause of death globally, registering nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. The data from the World Health Organization affirms breast and lung cancer to be the most common type of cancer diagnosed, responsible for almost 4.5 million deaths worldwide.
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Under the agreement, TMO will identify local labs that will be using the company's NGS technology and ensure these have the necessary infrastructure, trained staff, and quality control measures to meet industry standards for NGS testing services for breast and lung cancer. Pfizer will delve into ways to enable affordable patient access to NGS testing for these types of cancer. Additionally, the company will put try to raise healthcare provider awareness regarding the benefits of advanced testing.
The increasing access to local NGS testing holds the potential to provide a faster analysis of associated genes, empowering healthcare providers to select the right therapy for that individual patient. Per a representative at Thermo Fisher, through the Pfizer partnership, the company advances toward delivering precision insights to underserved patients to improve their treatment journey.
Both Thermo Fisher and Pfizer will continue to evaluate opportunities to expand geographically and enhance testing for other types of cancer.
Industry Prospects
Per a Research report, the global clinical oncology NGS market was valued at $297.9 million in 2020 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 14.70% by 2028.
Recent Developments
Earlier in March 2023, Thermo Fisher announced a strategic collaboration with privately held Arsenal Biosciences, Inc. (ArsenalBio) to expand the development of manufacturing processes for new cancer treatments. The R&D-focused collaboration has enabled ArsenalBio to develop a robust manufacturing process for next-generation, programmable autologous T cells for the treatment of cancer.
In the same month, Thermo Fisher launched a cGMP manufacturing facility at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center’s Mission Bay campus. The center will be used to accelerate the development and manufacturing of cell-based therapies for complex and rare diseases, including cancer.
Price Performance
In the past six months, Thermo Fisher has mostly underperformed its industry. TMO shares have decreased 0.7% compared with the industry’s rise of 3.9%.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Thermo Fisher currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the overall healthcare sector are Penumbra PEN, Accelerate Diagnostics AXDX and SiBone SIBN. Penumbra sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Accelerate Diagnostics and SiBone each carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Penumbra’s stock has risen 134.8% in the past year. Earnings estimates for Penumbra have increased from $1.25 to $1.47 in 2023 and $2.33 to $2.51 in 2024 in the past 30 days.
PEN’s earnings beat estimates in all the past four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 109.42%. In the last reported quarter, it posted an earnings surprise of 109.09%.
Estimates for Accelerate Diagnostics’ 2023 loss per diluted share have remained constant at 65 cents in the past 30 days. Shares of the company have increased 10.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s rise of 9.1%.
AXDX has an estimated earnings growth rate of 14.47% for 2023 against the S&P’s growth rate of 6.47%. In the last reported quarter, Accelerate Diagnostics delivered an earnings surprise of 12.50%
Estimates for SiBone’s 2023 loss per share have narrowed down from $1.63 to $1.61 in the past 30 days and $1.44 in the past 7 days. Shares of the company have increased 75.5% in the past year compared with the industry’s rise of 9%.
SIBN’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the same in one, the average surprise being 11.11%. In the last reported quarter, SiBone delivered an earnings surprise of 21.95%.
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