=Genomic Health (GHDX) to be acquired by Exact Sciences (EXAS) for $2.8 billion?

(Reuters) - Cancer diagnostics company Exact Sciences Corp (EXAS) is in advanced negotiations to buy healthcare company Genomic Health Inc (GHDX) for about $2.8 billion to strengthen its cancer testing, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.

A deal could be announced as early as next week but the talks could still be delayed or fall apart altogether, according to the report, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Exact Sciences and Genomic Health did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment on Saturday.

=Exact Sciences (EXAS) signs marketing deal with Pfizer (PFE) for cancer test

Aug 22 (Reuters) - Exact Sciences Corp said on Wednesday Pfizer Inc would share marketing expenses and co-promote the company's stool screening test for colorectal cancer, in a bid to boost sales of the product.

The companies will invest a combined $48 million, shared equally, next year to market the non-invasive DNA screening test Cologuard, while Pfizer will receive 50 percent of gross profit above an agreed-upon baseline, Exact Sciences Chief Executive Officer Kevin Conroy told Reuters in an interview.

"The marketing effort will begin in the fourth quarter (and) we expect the impact (of it) to occur next year," Conroy said.

The company is currently investing about $80 million in advertising and promoting the product, he said.

The diagnostics firm will continue to manufacture the test, with Pfizer chipping in with its sales force to boost marketing to primary care clinics and large hospitals.

Approved in the United States in 2014 to screen adults aged 50 or older at average risk for colorectal cancer, sales of the diagnostic test jumped 78 percent to nearly $103 million in the latest reported quarter.

Earlier this year, the American Cancer Society recommended people at risk of the disease start regular screening at 45 rather than 50, as studies increasingly show a rise in cases among younger individuals.

Colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women in the United States and is expected to cause about 50,630 deaths in 2018.

=EXACT Sciences (EXAS) reported earnings on Thur 27 April 2017 (b/o)

EXACT Sciences beats by $0.09, beats on revs; raises FY17 revs above consensus:

• Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.32 per share, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.41); revenues rose 225.9% year/year to $48.36 mln vs the $37.38 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• The company completed approximately 100,000 Cologuard tests during the quarter ended March 31, 2017. First-quarter 2017 revenues and completed Cologuard test volume grew 226 percent and 150 percent from the same period of 2016, respectively.
• About 10,000 health care providers ordered their initial Cologuard test during the first quarter of 2017. Since Cologuard was launched, approximately 70,000 providers have ordered the test through the first quarter of 2017, including approximately 56,000 of the estimated 200,000 active primary care providers in the United States.
  As of April 26, 2017, approximately 197 million Americans are members of health plans that cover Cologuard, including 78 percent of those who are indicated for colorectal cancer screening.
• Average cost per test for the first quarter of 2017 was $170, compared to $227 for the same period of 2016. The company's gross margin improved from 39 percent to 65 percent from the first quarter of 2016 to the same period of 2017. The change in revenue recognition contributed approximately 3 percentage points to the first-quarter 2017 gross margin.
• Co raises guidance for FY17, sees FY17 revs of $195-205 mln (Prior $170-180 mln) vs. $177.97 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees completed Cologuard test volume of at least 470,000 tests during 2017 vs. previously guiding for at least 415,000