Exact Sciences Corp.(Nasdaq: EXAS) today announced it has been awarded a $244,500 therapeutic discovery grant from the Internal Revenue Service to aid the company in its development of CologuardTM, an sDNA screening test aimed at detecting both colorectal cancers and pre-cancers. The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project was enacted as part of the health care reform legislation passed earlier this year. In order to qualify under the program’s guidelines, Exact Sciences had to show reasonable potential to produce a new therapy to prevent, detect or treat chronic or acute disease and conditions; reduce long-term health costs; or significantly advance the goal of curing cancer within a 30-year period.

More than 140,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year. Colorectal cancer is highly treatable if found early, but 40 percent of adults age 50 and older have not been screened as recommended.

The latest American Cancer Society colorectal cancer screening guidelines include the sDNA form of testing as a recommended screening option. The Cologuard sDNA test would work by detecting specific altered DNA sequences in cells that are shed into the stool from pre-cancerous or cancerous polyps. If a DNA abnormality is identified in a patient’s sample, a colonoscopy would be required to confirm the results.

Cologuard is an investigational device and is not available for sale in the United States. The company plans to begin its clinical trial next year.

About Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the United States. The National Cancer Institute estimates there will be about 142,000 new cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed in 2010 and that more than 51,000 people will die from colon and rectal cancer this year. The American Cancer Society recommends that all Americans start getting tested for the disease at age 50. However, many patients do not comply fully with current screening recommendations. In fact, 60 percent of patients today are diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the late stages, primarily because of poor screening compliance.

About Exact Sciences

Exact Sciences is a molecular diagnostics company focused on colorectal cancer. The company has exclusive intellectual property protecting its non-invasive, molecular screening technology for the detection of colorectal cancer. Stool-based DNA (sDNA) technology is included in the colorectal cancer screening guidelines of the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.exactsciences.com.

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