Exact Sciences gains on detailed Cologuard data

Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ:EXAS) gained $1.29 (10%) to $14.42 on Tuesday after trial collaborator Mayo Clinic accidentally released a press release with detailed data from the pivotal DeeP-C trial evaluating the company's Cologuard colorectal cancer screening test ahead of an embargo. The data were published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which lifted the embargo after market close. Exact jumped $1.63 (11%) to $16.05 in early after-hours trading.

Last year, Exact Sciences said Cologuard had 92% sensitivity and 87% specificity -- co-primary endpoints -- for detecting colorectal cancer in the trial, but the company did not provide details. On Tuesday, the published data showed Cologuard had 92.3% sensitivity for detecting colorectal cancer vs. 73.8% with a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) (p=0.002). Cologuard had 86.6% specificity vs. 94.9% for FIT in patients with non-advanced adenomas or negative colonoscopy results (p<0.001); the test had 89.8% specificity vs. 96.4% for FIT in just the group of patients with negative colonoscopy results (p<0.001) (see BioCentury, June 24, 2013). ...