Exact Sciences Announces Appointment of Diagnostics Veteran Graham Lidgard as Chief Scientific Officer

Exact Sciences Corp. (Nasdaq: EXAS) today announced the appointment of Graham P. Lidgard, Ph.D., as the company’s chief scientific officer. Dr. Lidgard, 60, brings more than three decades of clinical diagnostics experience to Exact. His past work includes molecular and immunoassay diagnostic product development, clinical trial preparation and execution, and preparation of successful pre-market approval, or PMA, and 510(k) submissions to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Dr. Lidgard led the research and development organization at Gen-Probe Inc. that developed that company’s Procleix blood-screening products and Aptima sexually-transmitted disease products. These product lines generated more than $400 million in revenues during 2008. Dr. Lidgard also created and led the system development group at Gen-Probe that developed its fully-automated Tigris system.

Prior to joining Gen-Probe, Dr. Lidgard was co-founder and vice president of product development of Matritech Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of diagnostic products for the early detection of bladder cancer. The company was acquired by Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. in 2007. Before he co-founded Matritech, Dr. Lidgard held senior positions at Ciba Corning Diagnostics Corp.’s worldwide diagnostics group. While at Ciba Corning, he was involved in the development of more than 70 510(k)-cleared products. He led the program for the development of the magnetic particle chemiluminescent technology that became the ACS:180 and Centaur systems. He also directed the company’s business development and marketing groups, and held operations and global product management positions.

Dr. Lidgard joins Exact Sciences from Nanogen Inc., where he was senior vice president of research and development. While at Nanogen, he managed its point of care and molecular diagnostics research and development groups.

"Exact Sciences is very pleased to welcome Dr. Lidgard to the company,” said Kevin T. Conroy, the company’s president and chief executive. "Graham’s remarkable breadth and depth of molecular diagnostics commercialization and regulatory experience will be instrumental in Exact’s efforts to execute on our product development and clinical trial planning priorities. We are fortunate to have an industry veteran with Graham’s credentials join us in our mission to reduce colon cancer deaths through early, patient-friendly detection.”

"I am delighted to join Exact Sciences at this very important time in the company’s development,” Dr. Lidgard said. "We have a very real opportunity to reduce colon cancer mortality and positively affect the outcomes of tens of thousands patients. I look forward to applying my molecular diagnostics experience to the refinement, clinical trial and commercialization of Exact’s colon cancer screening test.”

Dr. Lidgard earned a bachelor’s degree with honors and a doctorate in biological chemistry from the University of Manchester in England.

About Exact Sciences Corp.

Exact Sciences Corp. is a molecular diagnostics company focused on colorectal cancer. The company has exclusive intellectual property protecting its non-invasive, molecular screening technology for the detection of colorectal cancer. Stool-based DNA technology is included in the colorectal cancer screening guidelines of the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer.

Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are express or implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, EXACT Sciences' expectations concerning its cash resources, management’s plans, objectives and strategies and the timing of future investor conference calls. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond EXACT Sciences' control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things, EXACT Sciences' ability to regain compliance with Nasdaq continued listing requirements, changes in FDA guidance or policy; the success of EXACT’s strategic relationship with Genzyme; the risks of litigation; the ability to attract prospective collaborators or other parties to enter into a collaboration, acquisition or other strategic transaction with EXACT; the ability to raise additional capital on acceptable terms; the success of its strategic relationship with LabCorp; EXACT Sciences' ability to license certain technologies or obtain raw materials for its technologies; the ability to convince Medicare and other third-party payors to provide adequate reimbursement for EXACT Sciences' technologies; the ability to increase the performance its technologies; the ability of EXACT Sciences or LabCorp to lower the cost of stool-based DNA screening technologies through automating and simplifying key operational processes; and the possibility that other companies will develop and market novel or improved methods for detecting colorectal cancer. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. EXACT Sciences undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by EXACT Sciences, see the disclosure contained in EXACT Sciences' public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC.