Exact Sciences Corp. (NSDQ:EXAS) inked a licensing deal with Belgium-based OncoMethylome Sciences for that company’s DNA methylation biomarkers.
The Madison, Wis.-based company gained exclusive worldwide rights for up to two of OncoMethylome’s biomarkers utilized in its stool-based detection of colorectal cancer, the companies said.
According to a press release, DNA methylation regulates gene expression. Studies demonstrate that methylation markers are clinically relevant for colorectal cancer detection. In cancers and pre-cancers, those biomarkers are usually present more frequently than individual mutation biomarkers and therefore the cancer requires fewer methylation markers for detection.
"We believe that the combination of our biomarkers and platform with the test panel of Exact Sciences holds great promise for the development of a very powerful detection tool for colorectal cancer," OncoMethylome CEO Jan Groen said in prepared remarks.
It’s been one year since Exact Sciences picked up its Marlborough, Mass. stakes and moved them to Madison, Wis.
The Badger State gave the company a $1 million loan to facilitate the shift, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Exact Sciences said it could create as many as 150 jobs over five years in Wisconsin.
CEO Kevin Conroy is the former CEO of Third Wave Technologies, formerly based in Madison, which Hologic Inc. (NSDQ:HOLX) snapped up last year.
Exact Sciences is not the first company to be lured away from the Bay State by Wisconsin. Flex Biomedical accepted a $150,000 loan to relocate in January of 2009.