Exact Sciences Takes Action during COVID-19 Pandemic

Withdraws Prior First-Quarter and Annual Guidance for 2020 Due to COVID-19 Impact

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Mar 19, 2020, 06:00 ET

MADISON, Wis., March 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Exact Sciences Corp. (NASDAQ: EXAS) today provided an update on the actions it is taking to support patients, employees, and public health initiatives in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Exact Sciences recognizes that COVID-19 poses a significant public health threat requiring urgent action by healthcare companies globally. Enacting strategies to contain and slow the spread of the virus is essential to the wellbeing of communities and to preventing immense strain on the healthcare system. In line with these critical efforts, Exact Sciences is taking proactive steps to protect and prioritize patient care and the health of its employees:

Protecting employees and others. Effective March 13, employees who can work from home have been asked to do so, minimizing the staff in Company offices only to those who perform patient-critical work. Employees who feel ill have been told to stay home from work, and there are specific quarantine and communication procedures in place for employees suspected of having or diagnosed with COVID-19. Exact Sciences has taken steps to limit exposure to COVID-19 based on recommendations from government and health agencies, including suspending field-based, face-to-face interactions by its sales force. The sales team will serve healthcare providers via telephone and online technologies until it is safe to return to the field.
Maintaining our laboratory testing capabilities. Exact Sciences' testing labs remain operational at this time. Business continuity plans are in place at all sites to help sustain operations and ensure continuity of service for patients during this unprecedented time.
Improving access to healthcare from home. Exact Sciences has been investing in technology and increasing network capacity to meet growing demands. The Company is working to facilitate the use of online care for patients to access Cologuard® for their colorectal cancer screening needs, which continue notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic. Cologuard is ideally positioned to meet current needs as the test sample is collected at home.

"We know that cancer is relentless, and Exact Sciences remains committed to delivering critical answers to patients, even in the face of unprecedented challenges such as COVID-19. At the same time, we are prioritizing patient care and the health of our employees," said Kevin Conroy, chairman and CEO. "We have acted quickly to minimize business disruption and reduce spending in areas not critical to patient care, to ensure we have the financial flexibility to meet patient needs."

Update on First Quarter and Full Year 2020 Outlook

Due to the rapidly evolving environment and continued uncertainties from the impact of COVID-19, the Company is withdrawing its previously announced first quarter and annual guidance for 2020. Exact Sciences will provide an updated outlook in its first quarter earnings announcement and conference call, to the extent practicable, based on information available at the time.

Investor Contact:
Megan Jones, [email protected], 608-535-8815

Media Contact:
Stephanie Spanos, [email protected], 608-556-4380

About Exact Sciences Corp.
A leading provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, Exact Sciences relentlessly pursues smarter solutions providing the clarity to take life-changing action, earlier. Building on the success of Cologuard and Oncotype DX, Exact Sciences is investing in its product pipeline to take on some of the deadliest cancers and improve patient care. Exact Sciences unites visionary collaborators to help advance the fight against cancer. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.exactsciences.com, follow Exact Sciences on Twitter @ExactSciences, or find Exact Sciences on Facebook.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "goal," "project," "estimate," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this news release regarding our strategies, prospects, expectations, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding expected future operating results, anticipated results of our sales, marketing and patient adherence efforts, expectations concerning payer reimbursement and regulatory matters, the anticipated results of our product development efforts and the anticipated benefits of our combination with Genomic Health, Inc., including estimated synergies and other financial impacts. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: uncertainties associated with COVID-19, including its possible effects on our operations and the demand for our products and services; our ability to efficiently and flexibly manage our business amid uncertainties related to COVID-19; our ability to successfully and profitably market our products and services; the acceptance of our products and services by patients and healthcare providers; our ability to meet demand for our products and services; the success of our efforts to facilitate patient access to Cologuard via online care; the willingness of health insurance companies and other payers to cover our products and services and adequately reimburse us for such products and services; the amount and nature of competition in the cancer detection, treatment guidance and monitoring space; the effects of the adoption, modification or repeal of any law, rule, order, interpretation or policy relating to the healthcare system, including without limitation as a result of any judicial, executive or legislative action; the effects of changes in pricing, coverage and reimbursement for our products and services, including without limitation as a result of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014; recommendations, guidelines and quality metrics issued by various organizations such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Cancer Society, and the National Committee for Quality Assurance regarding cancer screening or our products and services; our ability to successfully develop new products and services and assess potential market opportunities; our ability to effectively utilize strategic partnerships, such as through our Promotion Agreement with Pfizer, Inc., and acquisitions; our success establishing and maintaining collaborative, licensing and supplier arrangements; our ability to maintain regulatory approvals and comply with applicable regulations; our ability to manage an international business and our expectations regarding our international expansion and opportunities; the potential effects of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and our efforts to hedge such effects; the possibility that the anticipated benefits from our combination with Genomic Health cannot be realized in full or at all or may take longer to realize than expected; the possibility that costs or difficulties related to the integration of Genomic Health's operations will be greater than expected and the possibility of disruptions to our business during integration efforts and strain on management time and resources; the outcome of any litigation, government investigations, enforcement actions or other legal proceedings; and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

SOURCE EXACT SCIENCES CORP