Veracyte Announces Ten New Blues Plan Coverage Policies for Its Afirma® Gene Expression Classifier for Use in Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: VCYT), a genomic diagnostics company focused on reducing unnecessary surgeries and healthcare costs by resolving diagnostic uncertainty, today announced that ten Blues plans have recently issued new positive coverage policies for the Afirma Gene Expression Classifier (GEC), deeming it a medically necessary benefit for their nearly 24 million collective members. The genomic test, which is used in thyroid cancer diagnosis, is now covered for nearly 225 million Americans, including more than 70 million Blues plan members.

The coverage policies make the Afirma GEC available to Blues plan members in Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Western New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming. The Afirma GEC is the only genomic test deemed medically necessary by these ten plans for the evaluation of potentially cancerous thyroid nodules.

"We are pleased that millions of additional Blues plan members will now have access to the Afirma GEC, which is becoming a new standard of care in thyroid cancer diagnosis," said Bonnie Anderson, Veracyte's president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board. "These coverage policies underscore the significant value that the Afirma GEC delivers to patients, physicians and the healthcare system, which is demonstrated in more than 20 published studies."

The Afirma GEC is used to identify patients with benign thyroid nodules among those with indeterminate cytopathology results in order to preserve the thyroid. Each year in the United States, approximately 525,000 FNA biopsies are performed to assess patients with potentially cancerous thyroid nodules. Up to 30 percent of the results are inconclusive and physicians have traditionally recommended thyroid surgery for a more definitive diagnosis. Following surgery, however, 70 to 80 percent of patients' nodules are diagnosed as benign, meaning the surgery was unnecessary. Such surgery is invasive, costly and often leads to the need for lifelong daily thyroid hormone replacement drugs.

About Veracyte
Veracyte (NASDAQ: VCYT) is a leading genomic diagnostics company that is fundamentally improving patient care by resolving diagnostic uncertainty with evidence that is trustworthy and actionable. The company's products uniquely combine genomic technology, clinical science and machine learning to provide answers that give physicians and patients a clear path forward without risky, costly surgery that is often unnecessary. Since its founding in 2008, Veracyte has commercialized three genomic tests, which are transforming the diagnosis of thyroid cancer, lung cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and collectively target a $2 billion market opportunity. Veracyte is based in South San Francisco, California. For more information, please visit www.veracyte.com and follow the company on Twitter (@veracyte).

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "expect," "believe," "should," "may," "will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, our ability to successfully scale the company and our belief that we are well positioned for profitable growth. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the applicability of clinical results to actual outcomes; laws and regulations applicable to our business, including potential regulation by the Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory bodies; the size of the market opportunity for our products; our ability to successfully achieve adoption of and reimbursement for our products; the amount by which use of our products are able to reduce invasive procedures and misdiagnosis, and reduce healthcare costs; the occurrence and outcomes of clinical studies; the timing and publication of clinical study results; and other risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and Veracyte specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Veracyte, Afirma, Percepta, Envisia, the Veracyte logo, and the Afirma logo are trademarks of Veracyte, Inc.

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