A new University of Wisconsin-Madison report evaluates the economic effect of Exact Sciences on the Dane County and broader Wisconsin economy – and it’s a big effect.
Exact Sciences, headquartered in Madison, has grown from 19 employees and $4.8 million in revenue in 2009 to approximately 7,200 employees globally (around half are in Wisconsin, primarily in Dane County) and $3.2 billion in revenue by 2025, driven primarily by the commercial success of Cologuard, a non-invasive colorectal cancer screening test approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2014.
It is estimated that Exact Sciences, which has been acquired by pharma giant Abbott, contributes approximately $6–7 billion to Wisconsin’s GDP, or roughly 1.7–2.0% of the state’s $354.4 billion economy.
In November 2025, Abbott announced an agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Exact Sciences for $105 per common share in cash, at a total equity value of approximately $21 billion and an estimated enterprise value of $23 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
