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Exact Sciences (Abbott)
Exact Sciences makes Cologuard and Oncotype DX and is launching Cancerguard MCED and Oncodetect MRD; Abbott completed its purchase of the company on 23 March 2026.
Overview
Exact Sciences, based in Madison, Wisconsin, makes Cologuard and Oncotype DX and is launching the Cancerguard multi-cancer early detection test and the Oncodetect residual disease test. Abbott completed its purchase of the company, agreed at about 21 billion dollars, on 23 March 2026. Its products span Cologuard Plus for stool-based colorectal screening, Oncotype DX for breast cancer recurrence risk, Oncodetect for MRD and Cancerguard, offered as a laboratory-developed test from 2025. OnCo links it to colorectal and HR-positive breast cancer, to MRD testing and multi-cancer early detection, to the early detection roadmap from organ screening to blood tests, and to Abbott Laboratories. Whether the Abbott deal turns a screening franchise into a broader diagnostics platform is the open question. Each product has its own page.
Headquarters
Madison, WI, US
Scorecard
All companies#236of 1520 companies, score 21
- approved products +12
- modalities +2
- regions +1
- registry trials +6
2 approved, 0 in phase 3, 0 earlier, 0 targets, 10 registry studies. Formula on the scorecards page.
Deals
Deal map| Date | Deal | Type | Upfront | Total | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11 | Exact Sciences (Abbott) to Abbott Cologuard, Oncotype DX, Cancerguard and Oncodetect | Acquisition | not disclosed | $21bn | source |
Type
Website
Products
6EstablishedGene-expression prognostic/predictive assay
A 21-gene test that tells most women with early hormone-positive breast cancer whether they can safely skip chemotherapy.
EmergingMulti-cancer early detection blood test (laboratory-developed)
Cancerguard · Cancerguard
Exact Sciences' multi-cancer blood test, sold since 2025 as a lab test that has not been through FDA approval; it says whether a cancer signal is present but not where, so a positive result leads to scans.
HistoricMulti-cancer blood test (cell-free DNA mutations and proteins), research assay
CancerSEEK · CancerSEEK
The Johns Hopkins blood test that first showed one draw could find several cancers and point to the organ; its approach passed to Thrive Earlier Detection and then to Exact Sciences, whose Cancerguard test followed.
ApprovedMultitarget stool DNA colorectal cancer screening test
Cologuard · Cologuard
A home stool test done every three years that looks for cancer DNA and hidden blood; a positive result means you need a colonoscopy.
ApprovedNext-generation multitarget stool DNA colorectal cancer screening test
Cologuard Plus · Cologuard Plus
The updated Cologuard, approved in 2024, which keeps the high cancer detection rate while causing fewer false alarms.
EmergingTumour-informed ctDNA minimal residual disease test
Oncodetect · Oncodetect
Exact Sciences' entry into the leftover-cancer blood test market, launched in 2025 for bowel cancer follow-up.
Key papers
2observationalCancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 2026
Performance of a multi-biomarker class, multi-cancer early detection (MCED) blood test in a prospectively collected cohort
It is the only peer-reviewed stage-by-stage figure for the Cancerguard approach, and it describes a development classifier at 98.5% specificity, not the launched test, which Exact Sciences says runs at 97.4% specificity.
methodsNew England Journal of Medicine 2014changed practice1,313 citations
Multitarget stool DNA testing for colorectal-cancer screening
The first molecular stool test to reach approval, and the template for the blood tests that followed: more sensitive for cancer, much less specific, and still poor at the precancerous lesions that screening is supposed to remove.
Connected
25Similar pages
- TreatmentShield
Shares Cologuard Plus, Cologuard, Cancerguard, Multitarget stool RNA test (ColoSense).
- TermFaecal immunochemical test (FIT)
Shares BLUE-C, DeeP-C, Cologuard Plus, Cologuard.
- IdeaTreat screening uptake, not test sensitivity, as the thing to optimise, and settle the age extension with a trial rather than a model
Shares Cologuard, Multitarget stool DNA testing for colorectal-cancer screening, Early detection roadmap: organ screening → blood tests for many cancers, The hardest cancers are found late.
- CompanyFreenome
Shares Abbott Laboratories, ctDNA tests roadmap: from a curiosity in plasma to blood tests that decide treatment, Multi-cancer early detection (MCED), The hardest cancers are found late.
- TermPositive predictive value (PPV)
Shares Cologuard, Multitarget stool DNA testing for colorectal-cancer screening, Cancerguard, Multitarget stool RNA test (ColoSense).
- TermSensitivity and specificity
Shares BLUE-C, DeeP-C, Cologuard Plus.
- TechnologyColorectal cancer screening (colonoscopy, FIT, stool DNA, blood)
Shares BLUE-C, DeeP-C, Abbott Laboratories, Cologuard Plus.
- TermDETECT-A: a blood test plus PET-CT to screen 10,006 women with no symptoms
Shares ASCEND (CancerSEEK case-control collection), CancerSEEK, Multi-cancer early detection (MCED).
cancers
fronts
technologies
drugs
EmergingMulti-cancer early detection blood test (laboratory-developed)
Cancerguard · Cancerguard
HistoricMulti-cancer blood test (cell-free DNA mutations and proteins), research assay
CancerSEEK · CancerSEEK
ApprovedMultitarget stool DNA colorectal cancer screening test
Cologuard · Cologuard
ApprovedNext-generation multitarget stool DNA colorectal cancer screening test
Cologuard Plus · Cologuard Plus
EmergingTumour-informed ctDNA minimal residual disease test
Oncodetect · Oncodetect
EstablishedGene-expression prognostic/predictive assay
companies
trials
Acoustic Cluster Therapy (ACT) With Chemotherapy for the Treatment of Locally Advanced Pancreatic CancerASCEND (CancerSEEK case-control collection)BLUE-CDeeP-CFalcon Registry (Exact Sciences multi-cancer test real-world evidence)REGENERATE (genetic and multi-cancer test education for people at pancreatic cancer risk)
roadmaps
bottlenecks
key papers
Sources
Every source this page cites, grouped by who published it. Grouping is read from the web address, not assigned by hand.
exactsciences.com · 1
mediaroom.com · 1
A source that has moved or gone is reported by the weekly link check. /audit/