Jefferies Comments On Exact Sciences DDW

According to Jefferies, Exact Sciences EXAS collaborator Dr. David Ahlquist of the Mayo Clinic presented initial data from the first head-to-head pilot study comparing EXAS' Cologuard stool-based DNA (sDNA) test with ARUP Labs' blood-based Septin9 assay. Jefferies said that the study, which was conducted in a blinded fashion at Mayo, involved 22 pre-cancerous polyps or adenoma samples (median size: ~2cm) and 30 colorectal cancer samples (median size: ~5cm). “Initial results demonstrated only 14% sensitivity for Septin9 compared to ~82% for Cologuard for detection of advanced adenoma at 90% specificity. For cancerous polyp detection, Septin9 demonstrated a sensitivity of ~60% compared to 87% for Cologuard. The data should alleviate concerns around the competitive viability of EXAS' sDNA technology relative to Septin9, in our view.” Exact Sciences closed yesterday at $7.50.