04 May Exact Sciences buys German biotech startup OmicEra Diagnostics for roughly $15M
To detect DNA fragments from tumors in blood, labs need to amplify DNA from samples. Research associate Breanna Richard prepares samples for amplification tests at Exact Sciences. KAYLA WOLF, STATE JOURNAL
Exact Sciences has purchased a German biotechnology startup to build on the capabilities of its advanced cancer screenings — including a blood-based, multi-cancer diagnostic test that’s undergoing clinical trials.
OmicEra Diagnostics creates tech that helps its clients research and and more reliably discover “biomarkers” that signal the presence of cancer in the human body. OmicEra’s field is in “proteomics,” or the large-scale analysis of proteins.
The deal closed Monday for approximately $15 million, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. OmicEra’s skilled teams are expected to deepen the Madison biomedical giant’s “proteomics profiling” abilities, said Exact associate director of corporate affairs Scott Larrivee in an email Tuesday afternoon.
In September 2020, Exact CEO Kevin Conroy unveiled preliminary data relating to the effectiveness of its blood-based test, also known as a “liquid biopsy” screening. Exact, with the help of the Mayo Clinic, has researched biomarkers for various cancers in blood for nearly a decade.
The early study found that the screening could identify between 83-87% of liver, lung, ovarian, pancreatic or stomach cancer cases — with a false positive rate of 5%.
Around 300,000 care providers and 200 large U.S. health systems additionally rely on Exact Sciences for its Cologuard and Oncotype DX tests. Cologuard screens for colon cancer, and Oncotype helps physicians determine whether cancer patients require chemotherapy.