EXACT Sciences Presentation Focuses on 2005 Strategic Objectives of In

    Business Editors/Health Editors

    MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2005--During their presentation at the 2005 Merrill Lynch Global Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Medical Device Conference, Don Hardison, EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS) President and CEO, and Anthony Shuber, EXACT Sciences' Chief Technology Officer, described the Company's commercial and applied research objectives for 2005. The presentation took place at 10:30 am Eastern Time, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York.
    In his portion of the presentation, Mr. Hardison discussed the Company's focus of working with its strategic partner, Laboratory Corporation of America(R) Holdings (LabCorp(R)) to increase the sales awareness and acceptance of PreGen-Plus(TM), its proprietary stool-based DNA assay for the detection of colorectal cancer. Mr. Shuber discussed the applied research group's success in proving that the technology can detect colorectal cancer in asymptomatic patients and his group's focus on further enhancing the performance of the assay. The Company will be allocating its resources to reflect these efforts. The Company ended fiscal 2004 with over 50 million dollars of cash and cash equivalents, and has set a goal of managing this cash to support three years of operations.
    As part of the focus on increasing sales, a portion of future expenses will be allocated to expanding the EXACT Sciences sales force's direct selling efforts. The Company also will continue to aggressively support the LabCorp sales efforts with its team of regionally based Directors of Strategic Accounts. The decision to develop a larger direct sales force was based on the results of certain sales pilots conducted by EXACT Sciences and LabCorp during the last several months. EXACT Sciences will continue to work with LabCorp to expand these pilots in the first and second quarter and to explore different sales approaches in an effort to optimize the sales process. In support of its sales and marketing efforts, the Company also will be focused on achieving the inclusion of PreGen-Plus both in the Medicare program and screening guidelines.
    The portion of future expenses allocated to research and development will be primarily devoted to increasing the performance of the PreGen-Plus assay in detecting colorectal cancer and pre-cancerous adenomas. In his presentation, Mr. Shuber described the results of the Company ongoing efforts to enhance the sensitivity of the assay. As an example of the ongoing applied research efforts, Mr. Shuber noted that the assay used in the multi-center study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine did not include enhancements such as the Effipure(TM) sample preparation technology, and the incorporation of LabCorp's rigorous sample collection procedures, which are included in the commercially available assay.
    An archived version of the presentation will be available for two weeks at the Company's website, www.exactsciences.com, through the Investor Relations link.

    About EXACT Sciences Corporation

    EXACT Sciences Corporation is a leader in rapidly applying genomics knowledge to develop effective, patient-friendly screening methods to detect cancer early, to assist physicians in saving patients' lives. Its first commercial test, PreGen-Plus(TM), is used for screening colorectal cancer in the average-risk population. Colorectal cancer, which is the most deadly cancer among non-smokers, is curable if detected early. Despite the availability of colorectal cancer screening and diagnostic tests for more than 20 years, the rate of early detection of colorectal cancer remains low, and deaths from colorectal cancer remain high. EXACT Sciences believes its genomics-based technologies will enable early detection of colorectal cancer so that more people can be effectively treated. Founded in 1995, EXACT Sciences is based in Marlborough, Mass. Detailed information on EXACT Sciences and PreGen-Plus can be found on the World Wide Web at www.exactsciences.com and www.pregenplus.com.

    Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are express or implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, EXACT Sciences' expectations concerning, among other things, its future sales volumes, revenues and expenses, its business outlook and business momentum (including the size of the potential market for its technologies), the likelihood of third-party reimbursement of its technologies and the future inclusion of its products in reimbursement guidelines, the Company's marketing and sales strategies and programs and their likely future success, the development of new technologies to enhance the sensitivity of its products in the detection of cancer, and the effectiveness and market acceptance of its technologies. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond EXACT Sciences' control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the ability of EXACT Sciences to become profitable; the success of its strategic relationship with LabCorp; its ability to license certain technologies or obtain raw materials for its technologies; the ability to convince Medicare and other third-party payors to provide adequate reimbursement for EXACT Sciences' products and services; the ability to convince medical practitioners to order tests using EXACT Sciences' technologies; the ability to increase the performance of the PreGen-Plus test; the ability of EXACT Sciences or LabCorp to lower costs through automating and simplifying key operational processes; the inclusion of PreGen-Plus in cancer screening guidelines; the number of people who decide to be screened for colorectal cancer using EXACT Sciences' technologies; competition; the ability to comply with federal and state statutes and regulations relating to EXACT Sciences' products and services, including FDA requirements, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments; the ability to protect EXACT Sciences' intellectual property and the cost of enforcing or defending EXACT Sciences in litigation relating to intellectual property rights; the possibility that other companies will develop and market novel or improved methods for detecting colorectal cancer; and the ability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. EXACT Sciences undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by EXACT Sciences, see the disclosure contained in EXACT Sciences' public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent SEC filings.

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CONTACT: Media: Fleishman-Hillard Kerry Beth Daly, 617-267-8223 dalyk@fleishman.com or Investor Relations & Corporate Communications: EXACT Sciences Amy Hedison, 508-683-1252 ahedison@exactsciences.com

KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MEDICAL MEDICAL DEVICES BIOTECHNOLOGY SOURCE: EXACT Sciences Corporation

Copyright Business Wire 2005