St. Louis gastrointestinal health startup Geneoscopy, which has developed a test to screen for colon cancer, said Monday it has filed a countersuit in a Wisconsin competitor’s claims of patent infringement.
Geneoscopy filed its lawsuit June 28 against Exact Sciences Corp., the Madison developer of the stool-based Cologuard colorectal cancer screening test, in the U.S. District Court of Delaware. It said its lawsuit includes claims of breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition, as well as other alleged violations of state and federal law.
Geneoscopy’s countersuit is part of an ongoing legal dispute between the St. Louis firm and Exact Sciences (Nasdaq: EXAS), which has filed two patent infringement lawsuits against Geneoscopy. Exact Sciences last week filed a motion for preliminary injunction against Geneoscopy, the St. Louis firm said.
“We are taking action due to Exact Sciences’ continued wrongful and malicious conduct, including the misappropriation of our proprietary information and trade secrets,” Andrew Barnell, co-founder and CEO of Geneoscopy, alleges in a news release. “Attempting to block new products from the market limits screening options for the 44 million Americans at average risk for CRC (colorectal cancer). We believe our countersuit is an important next step to ensure fair competition and prevent Exact Sciences from impeding innovation and advancement in the field of cancer detection.”
Exact Sciences didn't respond to a St. Louis Business Journal request for comment on the countersuit.
Founded in 2015, Geneoscopy has raised more than $100 million in financing as it sought to bring its colorectal cancer screening test to market. Its test received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in May, with Geneoscopy saying it plans to commercially launch its screening test later this year or in early 2025. The test, called ColoSense, is a preventive, stool-based test designed to detect colon cancer in those 45 years or older.
Geneoscopy has partnered with Burlington, North Carolina-based Labcorp (NYSE: LH) to distribute ColoSense to health care providers as part of their patient screening programs.
Geneoscopy said Monday it “believes that Exact Sciences’ patent suit and the belated preliminary injunction motion are baseless, and it will vigorously defend its position in court.”
“This filing in no way affects our confidence in the strength of our intellectual property,” Barnell said. “We are on track with the commercial launch timeline for ColoSense and remain dedicated to expanding choice and access to safe, effective, and convenient screening options for everyone, potentially saving countless lives.”
Geneoscopy said its suit is pursuing compensatory and punitive damages and for its legal fees Geneoscopy’s attorneys’ fees to be covered.
Exact Sciences filed its first patent infringement suit against Genescopy in November 2023. Geneoscopy in December filed a motion seeking to have the lawsuit be dismissed. The U.S. District Court judge for the District of Delaware denied the motion in part. Exact Sciences’ second suit came on May 15 regarding a new patent issued April 30 that, like the previously asserted patent, relates "to the novel sample collection technologies that have made Exact Sciences’ flagship Cologuard test so successful," Exact Sciences said in announcing the suit. Geneoscopy said it has asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to conduct an inter partes review “challenging the patentability” of Exact Sciences’ patent.
Geneoscopy has 55 employees, with more than half of its workers based in St. Louis.
David Schuyler of the Milwaukee Business Journal contributed to this report.
