STAT+: Social media diss highlights high-stakes rivalry over colon cancer blood tests

Biotech companies routinely compete to develop and commercialize products. But these rivalries are seldom as publicly heated as what has played out on social media this week between two firms racing to develop new ways to screen for colon cancer.

Over the weekend, during the leadup to Exact Sciences announcing data from a blood-based colon cancer test, Guardant Health co-CEO AmirAli Talasaz challenged Exact’s CEO, Kevin Conroy, in a LinkedIn post that was unusually confrontational.

“I’ll publicly bet you $1M that your [advanced adenoma and colorectal cancer] data at ESMO (whatever the readout) won’t hold up in your pivotal trial,” Talasaz wrote, referring to the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting where Exact presented data.

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