Quest Diagnostics to Speak at the Baird 2019 Global Healthcare Conference

On August 23, 2019 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services, reported that it is scheduled to speak at the Baird 2019 Global Healthcare Conference in New York (Press release, Quest Diagnostics, AUG 23, 2019, View Source [SID1234538965]). Steve Rusckowski, Chairman, President and CEO and Jim Davis, Executive Vice President, General Diagnostics will discuss the company’s vision, goals and two-point strategy to accelerate growth and drive operational excellence. The presentation is scheduled for Thursday, September 5, 2019 at 11:25 a.m. Eastern Time.

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The presentation will be webcast live during the conference and will be available on the company’s investor relations page which can be accessed at ir.QuestDiagnostics.com. In addition, the archived webcast will be available within 24 hours after the conclusion of the live event and will remain available until October 5, 2019.

Concord Medical Reports Financial Results for the First Half of 2019

On August 23, 2019 Concord Medical Services Holdings Limited ("Concord Medical" or the "Company") (NYSE: CCM), a specialty hospital management group and an operator of the network of radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging centers in China, reported its unaudited consolidated financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2019[1] (Press release, Concord Medical Services Holdings, AUG 23, 2019, View Source [SID1234538964]).

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2019 First Half Highlights

Total net revenues were RMB99.5 million ($14.5 million) in the first half of 2019, a 5.3% decrease from total net revenues of RMB105.1 million in the same period last year. Total net revenues included net revenue from the network business of RMB68.0 million ($9.9 million) and net revenue from hospital business of RMB31.5 million ($4.6 million).
Gross profit was RMB3.1 million ($0.5 million) in the first half of 2019, representing an 87.0% decrease from RMB23.9 million in the first half of 2018. The gross profit margin was 3.1% for the first half of 2019, compared to 22.8% for the same period last year.
Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders in the first half of 2019 was RMB140.1 million ($20.4 million), compared to RMB128.1 million in the same period last year.
Basic and diluted loss per American Depositary Share ("ADS")[2] in the first half of 2019 were both RMB6.10 ($0.89), compared to RMB2.95, respectively, in the same period last year.
Non-GAAP net loss in the first half of 2019 was RMB149.3 million ($21.7 million), compared to non-GAAP net loss of RMB121.5 million in the same period last year. Non-GAAP basic and diluted loss per ADS in the first half of 2019 were both RMB3.44 ($0.50), compared to RMB2.81 in the same period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA[3] (non-GAAP) was negative RMB108.3 million ($15.8 million) in the first half of 2019, compared to negative RMB73.3 million in the same period last year.
Dr. Jianyu Yang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Concord Medical, commented, "With the smooth construction of the Company’s hospitals, the corresponding costs have increased and have had an impact on the Company’s financial results. However, the year 2018-2019 was an important stage for the Company’s business development. In 2018, the Company received financing from strategic investors. In 2019, the Company’s three premium cancer hospitals are all under construction. Beijing Proton Medical Center and Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center are expected to commence the operations in 2020. The Company believes that its performance will be greatly improved."

"The proportion of revenue generated from the hospital business is increasing gradually. Revenue from the Company’s hospital business accounted for 32% of total revenue during the first half of 2019, representing an 8% increase from 24% in the first half of 2018. During the first half of 2019, Shanghai Meizhong Jiahe Cancer Center (also known as Shanghai Concord Medical Cancer Center) handled 4,758 patient treatment cases and patient diagnostic cases, representing a 190% increase from the same period last year."

"In the future, the Company will utilize its strengths in cancer treatment and explore business opportunities in the operation and management of cancer franchise hospitals and proton center operations."

2019 First Half Financial Results

Network Business

Net revenues from the network business were RMB68.0 million ($9.9 million), representing a 14.4% decrease from net revenues of RMB79.4 million in the first half of 2018, primarily attributable to the closure of certain centers in our network of centers. With one center closed in the first half of 2019, the Company operated a network of 30 centers in 20 cities in China as of June 30, 2019.

Cost of revenue of the network business was RMB34.8 million ($5.1 million), representing a 18.9% decrease from RMB42.9 million in the first half of 2018.

Gross profit from the network business was RMB33.2 million ($4.8 million), representing a 9.0% decrease from RMB36.5 million in the first half of 2018. The gross profit margin for the first half of 2019 was 48.8%, compared to 46.0% for the same period last year.

Selling expenses of the network business were RMB9.3 million ($1.4 million), representing a 6.1% decrease from RMB9.9 million in the first half of 2018. Selling expenses as a percentage of net revenues was 13.7% in the first half of 2019, compared to 12.5% in the first half of 2018. The decrease in selling expenses of the network business was mainly due to reduced marketing, conference, office and travel expenses.

General and administrative expenses of the network business were RMB82.5 million ($12.1 million), representing a 0.3% increase from RMB82.6 million in the first half of 2018. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of net revenues were 121.9% in the first half of 2019, compared to 104.0% in the same period last year. The increases were mainly due to the counsel fee and travel expense related to the closure of certain centers.

Comparing to RMB4.8 million in the same period last year, capital expenditures increased to RMB24.8 million ($3.6 million) in the first half of 2019 primarily for procuring equipment for network centers.

Accounts receivable were RMB85.0 million ($12.4 million) as of June 30, 2019, compared to RMB82.0 million as of December 31, 2018. The average period of sales outstanding for accounts receivable (also known as "Days Sales Outstanding") was 221 days in the first half of 2019.

During the first half of 2019, the Company handled 5,334 patient treatment cases and 74,721 patient diagnostic cases, representing a 0.4% decrease and a 5.9% increase from the same period last year, respectively. The increase in patient diagnostic cases was mainly due to the counting of the cases from a center which entered into network contract with the Company in December 2018.

Hospital Business

Net revenues from the hospital business were RMB31.5 million ($4.6 million) in the first half of 2019, representing a 22.6% increase from net revenues of RMB25.7 million in the first half of 2018, mainly due to the consolidation of Shanghai Meizhong Jiahe Cancer Center Co., Ltd. in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Cost of service of the hospital business in the first half of 2019 was RMB61.6 million ($9.0 million), a 60.8% increase from cost of service of RMB38.3 million in the first half of 2018, mainly because of the consolidation of Shanghai Meizhong Jiahe Cancer Center Co., Ltd. in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Gross loss from the hospital business was RMB30.1 million ($4.4 million) in the first half of 2019, compared to RMB12.6 million in same period last year.

Selling expenses of the hospital business were RMB1.5 million ($0.2 million) in the first half of 2019, representing a 114.3% increase from selling expenses of RMB0.7 million in the first half of 2018. The increase was mainly due to the consolidation of Shanghai Meizhong Jiahe Cancer Center Co., Ltd. in the fourth quarter of 2018.

General and administrative expenses of the hospital business were RMB57.0 million ($8.3 million) in the first half of 2019, of which employee benefit expenses were RMB19.9 million ($2.9 million). In the same period of last year, general and administrative expenses of the hospital business were RMB31.8 million. The increase was mainly due to the increase in salary and consultation fees for hospitals.

Comparing to RMB282.1 million in the first half of 2018, capital expenditures of the hospital were RMB410.5 million ($59.8 million) in the first half of 2019, which was mainly related to the construction fees and medical equipment payment for Beijing Proton Medical Center, Shanghai Concord Cancer Center and Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center.

As of June 30, 2019, accounts receivable from hospital business were RMB10.9 million ($1.6 million), a 55.7% increase from accounts receivable of RMB7.0 million as of December 31, 2018. The number of Days Sales Outstanding was 51 days in the first half of 2019.

As of June 30, 2019, the Company had bank loan totaling RMB1.1 billion ($163.0 million).

Recent Developments

Starting from February 20, 2019, the basic medical services of Shanghai Meizhong Jiahe Cancer Center (also known as Shanghai Concord Medical Cancer Center) used by Shanghai medical insurance participants have been fully covered by medical insurance. Moreover, effective on July 22, 2019, Shanghai Meizhong Jiahe Cancer Center has become a designated hospital in Shanghai, allowing the general outpatient services and the major outpatient services (including radiotherapy and chemotherapy for malignant tumors) to be settled by medical insurance according to the standard of the local third-level hospitals.

Shanghai Meizhong Jiahe Medical Imaging Diagnostic Center (also known as Shanghai Concord Medical Imaging Diagnostic Center) has completed the construction stage and is expected to commence a trail operation in the third quarter of 2019.

Notes:

[1] This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations of RMB into U.S. dollars are made at a rate of RMB6.8650 to $1.00, the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfers payable in RMB, as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on June 30, 2019.
[2] Each ADS represents three Class A ordinary shares of the Company; the Company adjusts for the accretion of mezzanine equity in the calculation of loss attributable to ordinary shareholders of the Company used in the earnings per ADS calculation.
[3] Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation expenses, and other adjustments. Other adjustments include foreign exchange gain, loss on disposal of long-lived assets and other income.

Tmunity Announces Participation at Upcoming Investor Conferences

On August 23, 2019 Tmunity Therapeutics, Inc., a private clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on saving and improving lives by delivering the full potential of next-generation T cell immunotherapy, reported that Usman "Oz" Azam, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, and members of the management team plan to participate at two investor conferences in September and October 2019 (Press release, Tmunity Therapeutics, AUG 23, 2019, View Source [SID1234538963]).

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Citi’s 14th Annual Biotech Conference
Wednesday, September 4, 2019
Boston, MA

Chardan 3rd Annual Genetic Medicines Conference
Monday, October 7, 2019
Podium presentation at 2:00 p.m. ET
New York, NY

Cantargia and BioWa Extend Ongoing Collaboration around the POTELLIGENT® Technology

On August 23, 2019 Cantargia AB and BioWa Inc. reported that they have signed an extension of the license agreement around the BioWa proprietary POTELLIGENT Technology for production of Cantargia’s antibody drug candidate CAN04, which gives Cantargia broader rights to use the technology (Press release, Cantargia, AUG 23, 2019, View Source [SID1234538962]). Since the original agreement allowing use of POTELLIGENT Technology was signed in 2015, Cantargia has advanced CAN04 to phase IIa clinical development for potential use in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pancreatic cancer (PDAC).

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Cantargia develops antibody-based pharmaceuticals against the interleukin 1 receptor accessory protein (IL1RAP). The POTELLIGENT technology generates antibodies with enhanced antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). The investigational antibody CAN04 binds IL1RAP with high affinity and functions through both ADCC and blockade of interleukin 1 signaling. CAN04 is currently produced in a Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line provided by BioWa which has been engineered using POTELLIGENT Technology. The extended agreement enables Cantargia to create and use additional CHO cell lines engineered using POTELLIGENT Technology and develop and commercialize CAN04 made through such CHO cell line.

With CAN04 having reached phase IIa clinical development, the next step in the production development is to further reduce production costs using various process improvements as well as scaling up, and Cantargia and BioWa have agreed to extend the current license to include additional opportunities.

"We are extremely pleased with our collaboration with BioWa and the amended agreement is a logical step in our long-term relationship. Given the successful advances of CAN04, optimization of the production process to reduce cost is part of the CAN04 development plan", Göran Forsberg, Cantargia’s CEO says.

"We believe that this extension of the license agreement would add benefits into the fruitful collaboration between Cantargia and BioWa." said Takeshi Masuda, BioWa’s President and CEO. "We are very pleased that this amended agreement could support the innovative program going forward".

This is information that Cantargia AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08.30 CET on August 23, 2019.

Medtronic Announces Cash Dividend for Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2020

On August 23, 2019 The board of directors of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) reported the fiscal year 2020 second quarter cash dividend of $0.54 per ordinary share, representing an 8 percent increase over the prior year (Press release, Medtronic, AUG 23, 2019, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2407089 [SID1234538961]). This quarterly declaration is consistent with the dividend announcement made by the company in June 2019. Medtronic is a constituent of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index, having increased its annual dividend payment for the past 42 consecutive years. The dividend is payable on October 18, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 27, 2019.

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