Exact Sciences, Madison, Wis, a molecular diagnostics company specializing in early cancer detection, has opened a 169,000 sq-ft clinical laboratory and warehouse in Madison. The laboratory will process Cologuard, the company’s colorectal cancer screening test. The new facility, which unites many core business functions within a common campus, is expected to increase the company’s total Cologuard processing capacity to 7 million tests per year.
Kevin Conroy, JD, Exact Sciences.
“From this campus, our laboratory and customer care teams will help people across the country get screened and detect colorectal cancers and precancers,” says Kevin Conroy, JD, president and CEO of Exact Sciences. “This will help improve outcomes, change lives, and reduce the toll colorectal cancer takes on our society.”
Cologuard is intended for the qualitative detection of colorectal neoplasia-associated DNA markers and the presence of occult hemoglobin in human stool. A positive result may indicate the presence of colorectal cancer or advanced adenoma and should be followed by diagnostic colonoscopy. Cologuard is indicated to screen adults of either sex, 50 years or older, who are at average risk for colorectal cancer. Cologuard is not a replacement for diagnostic colonoscopy or surveillance colonoscopy in high-risk individuals.
Mark Stenhouse, Exact Sciences.
The new facility reflects the company’s continued expansion and growth. Exact Sciences relocated its headquarters to Madison in 2009. The company expects the number of healthcare providers and patients choosing Cologuard to increase. By the end of 2019, Exact Sciences expects to have the capacity to process up to 4 million tests per year at the new lab and 3 million per year at its existing lab.
“More than 30 million Americans are not current with colorectal cancer screening guidelines,” says Mark Stenhouse, president of Exact Sciences’ Cologuard business. “We designed Cologuard to help people get screened, and it is doing exactly that. Approximately half of all new Cologuard users were previously unscreened. This lab is a milestone in our company’s ongoing efforts to change stagnant screening rates and help people take control of their health.”
For more information visit Exact Sciences.
Featured image: Patient sample kit for the Cologuard colorectal cancer screening test by Exact Sciences.
