PAVmed (NASDAQ:PAVM) said Medicare payments for Lucid’s EsoGuard test and expanding enrollment in its Veris health platform marked key developments in the third quarter of 2026, while a decline in the value of its Lucid holdings contributed to a wider preliminary net loss.
Chairman and CEO Dr. Lishan Aklog said Lucid began submitting EsoGuard claims through its Texas laboratory in late September and has received consistent payments at the full Medicare rate since October. He described the reimbursement as a “critical and transformational milestone” for Lucid, in which PAVmed is the largest common shareholder.
Chief Financial Officer Dennis McGrath said PAVmed held 31.3 million Lucid shares, or approximately 15% of the common shares outstanding. The company reported a preliminary third-quarter GAAP net loss of $13 million before non-controlling interest and preferred dividends, compared with a $6 million loss a year earlier.
Lucid shifts commercial focus to Medicare patients
Aklog said Medicare coverage for EsoGuard is being provided through claim-by-claim adjudication. Following the start of reimbursement, Lucid shifted its commercial activity toward Medicare patients, and October was a record month for test volume, he said.
Lucid plans to expand its commercial infrastructure to pursue the opportunity, Aklog said. He added that PAVmed would benefit as Lucid’s largest shareholder, although Lucid operates independently of PAVmed.
Veris enrollment grows as implantable monitor advances
At Ohio State University’s James Cancer Center, monthly enrollment in the Veris platform nearly doubled from July to September, Aklog said. The platform is live across most departments at the cancer center, with the remainder in the final stages of implementation.
Aklog attributed the growth to the rollout across departments and adoption within them. The company is working to reduce onboarding friction and workflow disruption, and it has upgraded electronic health record integration and made other software updates.
Veris is building a registry of the first 1,000 patients at Ohio State and remains on pace to reach that target by the end of the first quarter of 2027, Aklog said. While Veris has discussed its platform with a handful of other cancer centers, he said the company is concentrating on Ohio State until it can use what it learns there to support a broader rollout.
The company expects to submit its implantable physiological monitor for FDA 510(k) clearance in early 2027. Aklog said the device reached design freeze in August and that a 90-day animal study began in October. An app design freeze and skin validation study are expected by year-end.
PortIO and Octeris approach FDA discussions
PAVmed held an initial FDA call in late October about PortIO, an implantable port designed to provide long-term vascular access through the bone marrow cavity. A formal in-person pre-submission meeting is planned for January, with the regulatory pathway as the main topic, Aklog said.
The company previously pursued a De Novo pathway before pausing the project. Aklog said published first-in-human results and a proposed intended use excluding urgent and emergency insertion could support a 510(k) pathway instead. That route could require less time and capital and potentially no additional human data, although the pathway remains to be determined, he said.
For Octeris, an endoscopic imaging platform licensed from Duke University, PAVmed expects to submit an initial FDA pre-submission package in November. Aklog said a next-generation probe is ready for clinical testing, and enrollment in a clinical validation study at the University of North Carolina is expected to begin in January, subject to institutional review and contracting work.
Cash, debt and quarterly losses
PAVmed ended September with $8.9 million in cash, including $5.3 million of restricted cash. McGrath said $5 million of the restricted amount was held as additional security for the company’s senior debt. Underlying cash burn was approximately $2.8 million in the quarter, up from $2.7 million in the second quarter.
The company received $2.8 million from an at-the-market equity facility during the quarter and established a new facility with A.G.P. for up to $9.4 million in September. McGrath said the new facility remained fully available.
PAVmed’s $15 million senior secured note carries a 15% interest rate and matures in February 2029. McGrath said the company met its minimum cash covenant at September 30 but did not satisfy a collateral coverage covenant tied to the market value of its Lucid shares. The noteholder agreed to waive that covenant through the date of PAVmed’s upcoming SEC filing, and the parties are discussing covenants going forward, he said.
The decline in Lucid’s share price produced a roughly $10 million non-cash mark-to-market adjustment in the quarter, McGrath said. The preliminary GAAP net loss attributable to PAVmed common stockholders was $11.8 million, subject to completion of the debt valuation analysis. On a non-GAAP basis, the loss was $1.2 million, compared with $1.7 million in the second quarter.
About PAVmed (NASDAQ:PAVM)
PAVmed Inc. is a diversified medical technology company that develops and commercializes diagnostic and therapeutic products intended to address significant unmet needs in healthcare. Its portfolio has included medical devices, diagnostic technologies and digital health solutions, with a focus on products designed to improve disease detection, treatment and patient care. One of PAVmed’s principal areas of activity has been its relationship with Lucid Diagnostics, a subsidiary focused on early detection of esophageal disease.
