Exact Sciences Corp. is a

molecular diagnostics Molecular diagnostics is a collection of techniques used to analyze biological markers in the genome and proteome, and how their cells express their genes as proteins, applying molecular biology to medical testing. In medicine the technique is ...

company specializing in the detection of early stage cancers. The company's initial focus was on the early detection and prevention of colorectal cancer, in 2014 it launched Cologuard, the first stool DNA test for colorectal cancer. Since then Exact Sciences has grown its product portfolio to encompass other screening and precision oncological tests for other types of cancer.

History

Exact Sciences was founded in 1995 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, by Stanley Lapidus and Anthony Shuber as a company focused on the development of a non-invasive test for colorectal cancer. The company eventually went public with an initial offering on the NASDAQ in 2001. In the early years, there was much speculation that the company would be acquired by a competitor or exit the market; during this time the company's share price fell to less than one dollar. A significant turnaround in the company's fortunes began with the announcement of a mutual collaboration and licensing agreement between Exact Sciences and the Mayo Clinic in June 2009. In the same year, the company appointed Kevin Conroy as CEO & president and moved its head office to

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. In August 2014, Exact Sciences received premarket approval from the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

for the use and marketing of its flagship product, Cologuard. This breakthrough heralded the beginning of a period of rapid growth for Exact Sciences and the start of its first foray into the acquisitions market. In August 2017, the company made its first major acquisition when it purchased Sampleminded, a healthcare information technology company based in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, for $3.2 million. This was followed by the January 2018 announcement that Exact Sciences had completed a $690 million convertible bond offering and the revelation that the company was to acquire Armune Bioscience, a cancer diagnostic developer based in

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

and Ann Arbor, Michigan (announced during that year's J.P Morgan Healthcare Conference). Third-quarter financial reports revealed the price of the Armune Bioscience acquisition to be valued at $12 million, plus $17.5 million in incentives for certain milestones. Later, in October 2018, Exact Sciences announced its purchase of

Biomatrica Biomatrica is a United States-based biotechnology company, and subsidiary of Exact Sciences Corporation, that develops chemicals for ambient temperature preservation of biological materials for the purpose of expanding the availability and accurac ...

, a developer of sample preservation technology based in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. Financial reports revealed the purchase price to be $20 million with an additional $20 million in incentives for certain milestones. In summer 2019, Exact Sciences opened a new 169,000 square feet lab and warehouse facility to expand its testing capacity for Cologuard and, in its largest acquisition yet, announced its intention to buy Genomic Health, a genetic cancer detection company based in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

, for $2.8 billion. The reason given for this latest acquisition was to both expand Exact Sciences' product portfolio through the addition of Genomic Health's OncotypeIQ suite of precision tests, and expand into other markets outside the US on the back of Genomic Health's existing network. The deal with Genomic Health led to the opening of Exact Sciences offices in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and Japan, and the foundation of Exact Sciences International, with its headquarters initially in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

and later in Zug, Switzerland. In March 2020, Exact Sciences purchased Paradigm Diagnostics and Viomics, two companies based in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

that would expand their lab testing and research and development capabilities. Later, in October 2020, the company again announced a round of acquisitions - this time of Thrive Earlier Detection Corp. (based in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

) and Base Genomics (based in

Oxford, England Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

), two companies specializing in one of Exact Sciences' pipeline areas - blood-based cancer screening. Exact Sciences responded to the 2020

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

pandemic by temporarily refocusing a portion of its diagnostic capacity to testing for the disease. The company received FDA regulatory approval to provide home testing kits in April 2020, becoming one of the first companies in the U.S. to do so. In early 2021, Exact Sciences announced its acquisition of Ashion Analytics and plans to collaborate in research with TGen, the City Of Hope's Genomics Institute. This news came shortly after the company's decision to purchase an exclusive-use license of TGen's proprietary liquid biopsy-based test technology, Tardis.

Acquisition history

The following is an illustration of the company's major mergers and acquisitions and historical predecessors (this is not a comprehensive list):

Partnerships

Since 2009, Exact Sciences has maintained a collaboration with Mayo Clinic for its current and future products. In 2009, Exact Sciences also completed a licensing agreement with

Hologic Hologic, Inc. is a medical technology company primarily focused on women’s health; it sells medical devices for diagnostics, surgery, and medical imaging. History In late November 2013, activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed a 12.5% stake in ...

for its molecular detection platform. In April 2017, Exact Sciences and MDxHealth agreed to share technology on a variety of

epigenetics In biology, epigenetics is the study of stable phenotypic changes (known as ''marks'') that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix '' epi-'' ( "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are ...

and

applications for five years. In August 2018, Exact Sciences and

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

announced an agreement through 2021 to co-promote Cologuard. In November 2018, Exact Sciences announced a partnership with

Epic Systems Epic Systems Corporation, or Epic, is an American privately held healthcare software company. According to the company, hospitals that use its software held medical records of 78% of patients in the United States and over 3% of patients worldwi ...

for order entries. Exact Sciences has, since 2015, been sponsor of the Cologuard Classic, a professional golf tournament on the

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

tournament circuit held annually at the Catalina Course of the Omni Tucson National Resort, in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Products

Pipeline

Pipeline products include esophageal, breast, lung, liver, and pancreatic cancer testing. The company is also working with the Mayo Clinic to identify biomarkers associated with the 15 deadliest cancers. Other initiatives focus on: *Using experience gained from the development of Cologuard to create a wider cancer detection platform *Expanding the range Oncotype IQ products to include liquid and tissue-based tests *Adapting biomarker-based technologies create a liquid biopsy capable of detecting cancers and precancers from a blood sample *Improving analytical sensitivity using the company's existing multi-marker approach to better identify cancerous samples

References

External links

* {{Finance links , name = Exact Sciences Corporation , symbol = EXAS , reuters = EXAS.N , bloomberg = EXAS:US , sec_cik = 1124140 , yahoo = EXAS , google = EXAS Companies listed on the Nasdaq Health care companies established in 1995 American companies established in 1995 1995 establishments in Massachusetts Companies based in Madison, Wisconsin 2001 initial public offerings Life sciences industry Health care companies based in Wisconsin Medical genetics Genomics companies Pharmaceutical companies of the United States Pharmaceutical companies established in 1995