Catch up on news from Wisconsin innovation’s community with these recent headlines:
—Exact Sciences said Wednesday that it completed a lower number of its flagship diagnostic test, which screens patients for colorectal cancer, during the three-month period ended June 30 than it had projected previously. The announcement sent shares in the Madison-based company lower in trading Thursday.
Exact (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXAS]]) said that in the second quarter, it completed about 215,000 tests of Cologuard, an at-home, stool-based colorectal cancer screening test the company has sold since 2014. Exact had earlier said it expected to complete between 220,000 and 230,000 Cologuard tests between April and June. The company’s stock price finished the trading day Thursday at $51.63 a share, down more than 12 percent from $59.12 per share at the previous day’s close.
Kevin Conroy, Exact’s president and CEO, said in a conference call with analysts that in April and May, the company was “tracking at the upper end” of its projected 220,000 to 230,000 completed-test range, according to a transcript of the call on the stock market website Seeking Alpha. However, in June, Exact saw a decrease in the rate at which patients who received Cologuard test kits shipped them back to the company with a stool sample.
Exact this week reiterated its previous projections that it will complete at least 900,000 Cologuard tests in 2018, and its revenues for the year will be between $420 million and $430 million.
—Harley-Davidson (NYSE: [[ticker:HOG]]), the iconic Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer, said in a promotional video on its website that plans to introduce its first electric motorcycle, which will be called LiveWire, in August 2019. Harley did not say how much LiveWire will cost in the video or in a press release with information on the new bike. Harley said it plans to introduce other electric motorcycles by 2022; however, the company hasn’t revealed their names, or said how they’ll differ in performance or design from LiveWire, which Harley says will have a clutch-free, “twist-and-go” drivetrain. Harley’s electric bikes are part of the 115-year-old company’s effort to evolve its product line and get more young people to consider purchasing a motorcycle.
—Adorable, a Madison-based company that builds mobile apps and other software products for its clients, was acquired by 8th Light, a Chicago-based software development shop, according to a blog post on the company’s website. 8th Light did not disclose any financial terms of the deal in the blog post. In addition to the work it has done for customers, Adorable has worked with the local YWCA to lead YWeb Career Academy, a program aimed in part at boosting the number of women and minorities working in the software and information technology fields.
—We profiled Ideawake, a Milwaukee-based startup developing software to help employees at medium-sized to large companies track and give feedback on ideas for new products and initiatives. Ideawake’s customers include law firms and organizations in the healthcare and home appliance industries. The startup projects its revenues this year will be more than three times higher than its total sales in 2017.
—Madison-based HealthMyne, which is developing digital tools to integrate medical imaging data and information from patients’ electronic health records, raised $15 million from investors. Missouri-based Ascension Ventures led the round, HealthMyne said. Other participants included the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and return backers Venture Investors and 4490 Ventures.
—Milwaukee-based Frontdesk, a service allowing business travelers to reserve apartments for short stays in a way similar to how Airbnb accommodates tourists, raised more than $585,000 from three investors, according to an SEC filing. Frontdesk currently operates in Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and Charlotte, NC, and projects it will rent out 150 apartments across seven metropolitan areas by the end of 2018, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported earlier this year.
—Tailored Care, a Madison-based startup developing software designed to help support family caregivers as they work to keep elderly loved ones out of assisted-living facilities, raised $150,000 from Stella, an innovation-focused group operated by the health insurer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. That’s according to Ali Ahmadi, CEO of Tailored Care. The company recently captured one of the top two spots in a competition organized by Kaiser Permanente and the VC firm Village Capital.
