cancer screening, Elliott says. It would be designed to assess potentially cancerous nodules, or clumps of cells, found in the lungs, he says. The current diagnostic tests for distinguishing between benign lung nodules and lung cancer tend to be expensive and invasive, Exact CEO and chairman Kevin Conroy has said previously.
Elliott says the company has already completed an initial study of the lung cancer test, which involved about 400 patients. The test uses similar technology to Cologuard, and looks at DNA biomarkers identified by Exact and the Mayo Clinic ahead of time.
“This early data is very promising,” Elliott says. “Our plans now are to meet with the FDA in the coming quarters.” Provided that meeting goes well, Exact would then launch another study, which he says would take about two years. If all goes as planned, the test could reach the market as soon as 2021, Elliott says.
