Exact Sciences moving closer to clinical trials

CHICAGO -- Madison-based Exact Science is nearing a pre-clinical trial of its non-invasive screening technology for the detection of colorectal cancer, CEO Kevin Conroy said Tuesday during the 2010 BIO International Convention.

With a recent stock offering that raised more than $18 million from 25 public company investors, Exact Sciences is poised to move ahead with tests involving 3,000 samples, perhaps as early as this summer. "This will be a really major step for us," said Conroy, who noted that full clinical trials could begin in mid-2011.

Exact Sciences moved from Boston, Mass., to Madison in 2009 to develop its stool-based DNA technology. Conroy is the former CEO of Third Waves Technologies in Madison, which was acquired by Hologic.