Abbott announced on Thursday, Nov. 20 it plans to buy Exact Sciences, a Madison-based maker of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, in a deal valued at an estimated $23 billion, including debt.
The deal marks diagnostics company Abbott’s entry into the fast-growing cancer screening market. It will add Exact Sciences’ flagship test Cologuard, which screens for colorectal cancer, to Abbott’s portfolio. The non-invasive test provides a convenient alternative to a colonoscopy and is used by millions of people every year.
Exact Sciences, which has about 7,000 employees, has been a major driver in the Madison area’s economic growth and is part of the state’s place as a biotechnology hub.
“Together with Abbott, we can reach more patients, advance earlier detection, and deliver answers that change lives,” said Kevin Conroy, chairman and chief executive of Exact Sciences.
“Abbott’s culture of innovation and global commercial reach will help accelerate our mission of eradicating cancer and expanding access to our tests worldwide, while delivering immediate and substantial value to our shareholders.”
The news of the acquisition was welcomed by the Madison business community.
“(Abbott’s) investment in Greater Madison is the largest in our history and further validates the region’s reputation as a global leader in life sciences and research innovation,” Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce President Zach Brandon said in a statement.
Exact Sciences will maintain presence in Madison
Exact Sciences, which has its headquarters, labs and other facilities in Madison, will maintain its presence in the city, according to a joint press release. It’s unclear whether layoffs or downsizing will follow.
Exact is projected to generate more than $3 billion in revenue this year and to grow each year, lifting Abbott’s total diagnostics sales to more than $12 billion annually, the companies said in the release.
Abbott products include lab tests for heart disease and infections, rapid tests for COVID-19 and advanced molecular tests that detect genetic markers and viruses.
Its deal with Exact will help offset revenue declines from Abbott’s COVID-19 testing kits.
Under the terms of the agreement, Exact shareholders will receive $105 per common share.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026 after Exact’s shareholder approval.
Conroy, Exact’s chief executive, will remain with the company in an advisory role.
Exact Sciences founded 30 years ago
Founded in the Boston area in 1995, Exact Sciences raised more than $47 million before going public in early 2001, the Journal Sentinel has previously reported. The company began selling a screening test for a specific type of colon cancer and raised another $43.8 million in 2004.
In spring 2009, Exact hired Kevin T. Conroy to take over, who has been at the company’s helm since. Conroy previously led Madison-based Third Wave Technologies Inc., a molecular diagnostics company, before it sold in 2008 to Hologic Inc.
Exact soon moved its headquarters to Madison.
In 2014, Cologuard was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It provides a convenient alternative to a colonoscopy, which requires bowel preparation, sedation and a clinical visit.
Exact’s test can be done at home by collecting a stool sample and mailing it to a lab.
However, the test also results in more false-positive tests than other screening methods, potentially leading to more follow-up care. Colonoscopy is considered the gold standard of screening tests and identifies about 95% of colorectal cancers, according to a Harvard Medical School blog post.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and is the fourth most common type of cancer, behind breast, prostate and lung cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Exact manufactures and processes Cologuard tests at its facilities in Madison.
Exact Sciences added to its product lines with Genomic Health purchase
In 2019, Exact Sciences expanded its portfolio of tests when it bought Genomic Health, a company with tests for breast and prostate cancer, in a $2.8 billion deal. The deal brought the Oncotype DX test into Exact’s portfolio, which predicts how likely breast cancer is to spread somewhere else in the body and helps predict whether chemotherapy would be beneficial in early-stage breast cancer patients.
Exact has followed with acquisitions of other companies since to expand the tests it offers.
In October 2024, the FDA approved Cologuard Plus, which detects colorectal cancers with greater sensitivity than its Cologuard test and also purports to reduce false positives by nearly 40%, according to Exact.
The company reported in its latest annual financial statement it was working to develop a blood-based screening test for colorectal cancer, amid pressure from competitors that had or were developing such screening methods.
Exact Sciences, which has about $1 billion in cash and securities, reported a net loss of $1 billion, or $5.59 per share, last year. It reported revenue of $2.76 billion last year, up from $2.5 billion in 2023 and $2 billion in 2022.
Reuters contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional information.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Abbott to buy Madison-based Exact Sciences in deal valued at up to $23 billion
Reporting by Sarah Volpenhein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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