Freenome licenses its colorectal blood test to Exact Sciences in a deal worth up to $885M

Freenome/SimpleScreen CRC

Freenome gave Exact Sciences, maker of the Cologuard stool test, exclusive rights to sell its blood-based colorectal screening test, and submitted the final module of its FDA application. In the 48,995-person PREEMPT CRC study, the test caught 81.1% of colorectal cancers with 90.4% specificity. Freenome keeps the right to sell the test bundled with its future multi-cancer screens.

• $75M upfront, $200M tied to FDA approvals, $500M if USPSTF rates it A or B, royalties ramping to 10%.
• Stage I sensitivity 63.5%; advanced precancerous lesions 13.7%.
• A next-generation version showed stronger detection and will follow as a PMA supplement.