MW Why Abbott is paying $21 billion for Exact Sciences and its Cologuard cancer test

By Jaimy Lee

The acquisition will allow the diagnostics giant to enter the rapidly growing market for cancer tests

Exact Sciences sells Cologuard, the at-home test for colorectal cancer that allows some patients to skip colonoscopies.

Abbott is getting into cancer testing with its $21 billion acquisition Exact Sciences, the maker of the game-changing colorectal cancer test Cologuard.

Abbott markets well-known diagnostics for COVID-19, HIV and more recently concussions. By buying Exact Sciences and its series of cancer tests that generate about $3 billion in annual revenue, Abbott can buoy its own diagnostics business. The company has said revenue in that business is down 5% in the first nine months this year.

Exact's Cologuard is the first non-invasive at-home test for colorectal cancer, allowing some people to bypass invasive and time-consuming colonoscopies as part of their routine care.

"Abbott has not participated in the fast-growing oncology diagnostics market, and Exact would allow for a platform to do just that," William Blair's Andrew Brackmann told investors before the deal was confirmed.

Abbott's shares $(ABT)$ were down 1.1% in premarket trading Thursday, while Exact Sciences' stock $(EXAS)$ jumped 18% after the deal was announced. That's after Exact Science shares had already closed 23% higher at $86.18 on Wednesday, after Bloomberg reported the companies were nearing a deal.

Oppenheimer analysts also said they would like the deal, saying it would be a "positive step" for Abbott, which once brought in billions of dollars in sales per quarter for its COVID tests. Those tests brought in only $69 million in sales in the third quarter.

Abbott is paying $105 per share for Exact Sciences, which represents a premium of 21.8% to Wednesday's closing price.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. The boards of both companies have approved the acquisition.

-Jaimy Lee

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November 20, 2025 08:43 ET (13:43 GMT)

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