Exact Sciences has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Freenome for current and future blood-based colorectal cancer (CRC) screening tests, adding a complementary option to its Cologuard portfolio. Freenome’s first-version test, recently submitted to the FDA, showed 81% CRC sensitivity and 14% advanced precancerous lesion sensitivity at 90% specificity in the PREEMPT study.
The agreement includes up to $775M in payments tied to regulatory and performance milestones, plus royalties, with Exact committing $20M annually for joint R&D over three years. Leaders say the partnership could help close the screening gap for over 50 million unscreened Americans.