The future of Madison-based biotechnology company Exact Sciences Corporation is less certain after a major drop in the company’s stock value last week.
The drop caused concern for the public investment made into the recently approved Judge Doyle Square project, a $200 million development which includes a corporate headquarters for Exact Sciences.
The company’s main product, Cologuard, was not included on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s list of recommended screening tests for cancer, causing the plummet in Exact Sciences’ shares.
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin questioned Exact Sciences’ potential for success in a letter sent to the company’s principal and CEO Wednesday.
In the letter, the mayor requested that Exact Sciences respond by Oct. 28 to a series of questions posed by the Common Council.
“It was premature to come to any conclusions regarding Exact Sciences,” he wrote. “In the next month the City would get better information on the long term consequences of that announcement.”
The company focuses on detection of colon cancer and manufactures Cologuard, “the first noninvasive screening test for colorectal cancer that analyzes both stool DNA and blood biomarkers,” according to its website.
The Common Council approved a proposal to build the corporate headquarters as part of the Judge Doyle Square project Sept. 30.
However, the steep drop in shares—more than 45 percent—alludes to the company’s potential to be less profitable than previously thought.
The company’s CEO Kevin Conroy testified before Common Council voted on the Judge Doyle Square legislation, praising Cologuard.
“We’re really only one of the only companies dedicated to [early detection],” he said at the meeting. “Cologuard is a major breakthrough. There is no test like it even close to the performance level.”
