Sequenom sales slide on coding changes
Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ:SGNM) fell $1.39 (30%) to $3.30 on Thursday after the company reported late Wednesday that 2Q13 diagnostic revenues fell 18% from the prior quarter, a drop Sequenom attributed to uncertainties surrounding molecular diagnostic coding. The biotech said 2Q13 diagnostic sales were $24.5 million, down 18% from $29.1 million in 1Q13. Total revenues were $34.9 million, below the Street's expectation of $52.5 million.
On January 1, CMS and third-party payers adopted a system where an individual molecular test is assigned a unique billing code. According to Sequenom, the new system has caused payers to question whether tests like Sequenom's MaterniT21 Plus comply with coverage requirements. MaterniT21 Plus is a non-invasive prenatal test to detect fetal trisomy 21, 18 and 13 and fetal sex chromosomal aneuploidies. Sequenom said payers are withholding payment until Sequenom provides additional details about the use of its tests (see BioCentury, July 15). ...