Gov. Doyle: Announces exact sciences corporation to relocate to Wisconsin

Contacts: Carla Vigue, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162

Tony Hozeny, Department of Commerce, 608-267-9661

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle today announced that Exact Sciences Corporation has received a $1-million loan from the Department of Commerce to relocate its headquarters and operations from Marlboro, Mass., to Madison. The company expects to make a significant investment in its relocated operations, creating as many as 150 jobs over five years, as it achieves its commercial milestones.



“I am delighted to welcome Exact Sciences Corporation to Wisconsin,” Governor Doyle said. “The company is developing an innovative, patient-friendly screening technology for colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. We are pleased that Exact Sciences Corporation believes it can best meet its long-term goals by relocating to Wisconsin, where we have proven that we have the infrastructure to help technology firms flourish.”

“We’re grateful to Governor Doyle and the Department of Commerce for their support of Exact Sciences Corporation’s relocation to Wisconsin,” said Kevin Conroy, the company’s president and chief executive. “The assistance provided by the governor was a critical part of our relocation decision. We know from past experience that Wisconsin, and the Madison area, in particular, is a great place to build a biotechnology company.”

Mr. Conroy is the former president and chief executive of Third Wave Technologies Inc., the molecular diagnostics company that was acquired last year by a Boston-based company, but has maintained its operations in Madison.

Exact Sciences Corporation is a molecular diagnostics company focused on colorectal cancer. The company has extensive intellectual property protecting its non-invasive, molecular-screening technology for the detection of this disease. It is estimated that that one-third of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented if more people underwent regular screening. The five-year survival rate for those whose cancer is detected early exceeds 90 percent.

The company will use its loan for equipment and working capital related to the relocation.

For more information on Commerce support for technology businesses, visit http://commerce.wi.gov/BD/BD-TechnologyBiz.html