Exact Sciences Stock Expands into Liquid Biopsy Market

Did you know that as early as the 1930s scientists were using wastewater – specifically, human excreta – to track disease outbreaks like polio well before the Rona came to town? Here’s another interesting scientific scoop on poop: One of the best treatments for people suffering from a serious bacterial gut infection is a fecal transplant, basically transferring good bacteria from a healthy microbiome to recolonize another’s diseased colon. We’re going to squeeze one more out that’s particularly relevant to today’s article: One way to screen for colon cancer is through a fecal immunochemical test (FIT), which uses antibodies to detect blood in the stool. 

We’re MBAs not coprophiliacs, but this is our way of introducing Exact Sciences (EXAS), which has grown to a $9 billion company by offering a diagnostic test for colorectal cancer called Cologuard that combines FIT with a genomic technique that detects altered cancer DNA in stool. The existence of Cologuard is a big reason why Guardant Health (GH) stock took a dump last week following a study that showed its liquid biopsy test for colorectal cancer isn’t nearly as sensitive as the stool DNA (sDNA) test from Exact Sciences. While we remain