US healthcare group Abbott Laboratories has bet on rapid cancer testing to boost growth, striking a $23bn deal to buy Exact Sciences in its biggest acquisition in almost a decade.
Exact’s main product — Cologuard — is a non-invasive test that screens for colorectal cancer, the second deadliest form of cancer in the US. It has been used 20mn times since it was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2014.
The deal to buy Exact marks Abbott’s biggest acquisition since its $23.6bn takeover of device maker St Jude Medical in 2017 and comes amid a frenzy of large deals, particularly in the healthcare sector. In the past month, private equity groups TPG and Blackstone struck an $18.3bn deal to buy Hologic, and Novartis bought biotech Avidity Biosciences for $12bn.