Why the Rhythm Biosciences (ASX:RHY) share price jumped over 600% this year

The Rhythm Biosciences share price has soared over 600% this year. We take a closer look at what the company's been up to.

Gretchen Kennedy

Gretchen grew up in a small Connecticut town where she learned to read The Wall Street Journal as part of the grade six enrichment program. She moved to Australia in 2002, earned a Master of Arts (Professional Writing) and went on to spend eight years writing on Wall Street. In June 2018, Gretchen returned to Australia and has since developed a keen interest in all things ASX. In December 2020, she started writing for the Motley Fool. Gretchen's usually writing something, reading a book or chasing her dogs around.

Published December 29, 2020 12:57 pm AEDT

The Rhythm Biosciences Ltd (ASX: RHY) share price has rocketed over 640% for the past twelve-month period. From the beginning of November alone, the share price has soared over 355%.

For the past few weeks, we've been watching Rhythm Biosciences' share price pop amid recent company achievements that might help explain the climbing share price.

So how did Rhythm Biosciences slap over six hundred percent on its share price this year?

asx share price rise represented by red paper plane flying away from other white paper planes — Image source: Getty Images

A one product focused company

Unlike other research and development (R&D) companies, Rhythm Biosciences is focused on one project only, ColoSTAT. According to the company's latest investor presentation, the purpose of ColoSTAT is the early detection of colorectal cancer using a simple, accurate and low-cost blood test, designed for global mass-market screening.

The 'global mass-market' part here is important when assessing the ambitions of the company. The presentation further notes that across the company's markets which include the US, Europe, Australia, China and Japan — the colorectal cancer screening market for the 50 – 74 year old population is worth roughly $38 billion.

Bringing new technology into this space could be a real game changer for Rhythm Biosciences and a significant R&D breakthrough for the industry as a whole.

So who's in charge?

Rhythm Biosciences' board and management team offer a mix of experience across the R&D and pharmaceutical spaces. The current CEO previously led up Medical Developments International Ltd (ASX: MVP). Other members of the board have worked senior roles in companies including Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL) and Imugene Ltd (ASX: IMU).

Notably, the board and management team also offer a breadth of global experience and international achievements. This is of specific relevance considering the company's intention to make ColoSTAT available in so many parts of the world.

What does 2021 look like for the Rhythm Biosciences share price?

I'm sure if many investors would have guessed that the Rhythm Biosciences share price was going to soar over 600% this year, the company would have sold a lot more shares twelve months back. Unfortunately, not even a crystal ball can predict what markets will do.

What we do know is that Rhythm Biosciences has noted its intentions for FY21 and FY22. According to current estimates by the company, the 'final product make up' is expected during FY21 and a clinical trial study targeting a 'real-world population' is scheduled for FY22.

As we make our way into 2021, we'll just have to buckle up and see how these activities pan out for the company and what that will mean for its share price.

The Rhythm Biosciences share price opened today at 82 cents per share.

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