Genetic Test Company Invitae Leases Flagship Site in San Francisco to Expand DNA Testing Laboratory
September 23, 2015
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
San Francisco-based Invitae Corp. recently leased a 103,000-square-foot building on 16th Street, the former headquarters of retailer Jessica McClintock. Invitae is a genetic diagnostics company focused on hereditary disorders.
Invitae is expected to pay approximately $7 million annually in rent. In 2014, the building was acquired by ASB Real Estate Investments and SKS Investments for $35 million.
Prior to this lease deal, Invitae had been leasing space in two buildings on Brannan Street for a combined space of 30,000 square feet. In addition, the company leases some properties in Palo Alto and Oakland.
“This new headquarters will enable us to have our San Francisco-based employees and expanded laboratory all under one roof,” Katherine Stueland, an Invitae spokesperson told the San Francisco Business Times.
On Sept. 21, Invitae announced a new education campaign to improve awareness about genetic testing and family history of inheritable diseases. The new program is titled Your Genes. Your Voice. Your Choice. The program’s website offers an assessment tool and links to social media to share participants’ stories.
“Many think of genetic testing as a relatively new frontier in medicine, but these survey results show that Americans are now aware of its potential and see it as a useful tool for understanding their genetic risk of disease,” said Ora Gordan, director of the Hereditary Cancer Prevention Program at the Disney Family Cancer Center of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in a statement. “We all know the importance of understanding and documenting our family history of disease, but for many people it’s a challenge. Tracking your family history and talking with your clinician about whether genetic testing is appropriate for you are important steps in assessing your risk of hereditary cancer.”
In its second quarter financial statements, Invitae reported total revenue of $1.8 million in the second quarter, an increase of 47 percent over the first quarter of 2015, and about six times more than the $0.3 million reported in the second quarter of 2014. Total second quarter operating expenses for 2015 were $25.9 million, up from $10.8 million for the same period in 2014.
The company indicates in the second quarter it accessioned more than 4,600 patient samples and produced more than 4,400 billable reports, an increase of more than 90 percent from the first quarter of the year.
“With the Supreme Court decisions regarding DNA patents, the declining cost of sequencing, and the recent data that we’ve published, the genetics field has been opened to disruption and has transformed into a market in which high-quality, high-value services delivered at scale will win,” said Sean George, president and chief operating officer of Invitae in a statement. “Given our team, our investment in our infrastructure, and our progress to date, we expect to be the leader in this new competitive marketplace.”
has been on a relatively slow decline for the last year, although it shows at least some signs of improvement lately. Shares traded for $21.63 on Feb. 18, 2015, dropped to $11.28 on April 29, and rose to $15.40 on May 18. Share prices fluctuated for the next few weeks, hitting $15.39 on July 6, then dropping to $8.52 on Aug. 20. Stock is currently trading for $10.25.
Zacks recently raised the company’s rating from a “sell” to a “hold.” William Blair set a “market perform” rating in a research note on Aug. 14. The consensus rating from five analysts is a “buy” with two rating “hold” and three rating it a “buy.” The consensus price target is $22.50.
Will the Presidential Election Change the Face of the Way Prescription Drugs are Sold in the United States?
Although Turing Pharmaceuticals announced it will revise its 5,000 percent increase of a newly acquired drug to treat toxoplasmosis, the move sparked a public outcry that resulted in one presidential candidate calling for price caps on prescription medication.
In August, Turing Pharmaceuticals acquired toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim from Impax Laboratories and increased the price of the medication from $13.50 per tablet to $750 per tablet, a 5,000 percent increase. Turing Chief Executive Officer Martin Shkreli defended the increase, saying the revenues would be used to subsidize new research into treatments for toxoplasmosis. Has since said the company will reduce the price, but did not specify what the price would be.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said if elected she would cap monthly out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at $250 to avoid “price gouging.” Her comment sent the stock market into a state of flux, with several large companies seeing a drop in their stock of up to 10 percent. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index dropped 4.4 percent and the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF dropped by 6 percent.
BioSpace wants to know what you think: Will the presidential election change the face of the way prescription drugs are sold in the United States?