Exact Sciences, the Madison-based molecular diagnostics company, has opened its new clinical laboratory and warehouse on the city’s near west side, less than 20 months after breaking ground.
The company is behind the colorectal screening test, Cologuard. Earlier this year, the company said more than 2 million people had been screened using the at-home testing option since it first launched the product roughly five years ago. Cologuard received FDA approval in 2014.
The new 169,000 square foot facility, called the “Discovery Campus,” is expected to bring the company’s total Cologuard processing capacity to 7 million tests per year, as well as centralize Exact Sciences’ business operations.
In addition to the new lab and office space, construction is underway on a cafeteria and employee amenities building, a 970-stall parking garage, and a production and manufacturing space, the company added.
“From this campus, our laboratory and customer care teams will help people across the country get screened and detect colorectal cancers and precancers,” Exact Sciences President and CEO Kevin Conroy said in a statement. “This will help improve outcomes, change lives, and reduce the toll colorectal cancer takes on our society.”
Since Exact Sciences relocated to Madison in 2009, the biotechnology company says it has experienced rapid growth. Today, the company employs more than 2,300 people, with the majority of its workforce located in Wisconsin. Exact Sciences says it's looking to fill more than 300 new roles.
With its latest building investment, the company hopes to meet the increasing demand of healthcare providers and patients who are turning to Cologuard to detect colorectal cancers. More than 30 million Americans are not current with colorectal cancer screening guidelines, according to Mark Stenhouse, president of Exact Sciences’ Cologuard division.
“Approximately half of all new Cologuard users were previously unscreened,” he said. “This lab is a milestone in our company’s ongoing efforts to change stagnant screening rates and help people take control of their health."
Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, guests were given a tour of the campus and a rundown of the science behind the company’s Cologuard product.
"What we are doing is extremely high tech, and it is also extremely accessible," said Ana Hooker, senior vice president of Operations for Exact Sciences. "We want everyone who visits this lab to understand the science behind our process and the rigor and care applied at each step."
