Date: 2015-03-09
Type of information: Establishment of a new subsidiary in the EU
Compound: Cologuard® (colorectal cancer screening test)
Company: Exact Sciences (USA - WI) Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (USA - MA)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology - Diagnostic
Type agreement: promotion
Action mechanism: Cologuard® is a noninvasive stool-based DNA (sDNA) colorectal cancer screening test for average risk patients.
Disease: colorectal cancer
Details: * On March 9, 2015, Exact Sciences and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals announced an agreement to co-promote Exact Sciences\' Cologuard®, the first and only FDA -approved noninvasive stool DNA screening test for colorectal cancer. The agreement provides for the near-term expansion of Cologuard promotional efforts through the use of Ironwood\'s clinical sales specialists to more than double the number of physicians reached in the United States. The non-exclusive co-promotion agreement covers an initial one-year term with the opportunity for extension. Ironwood\'s clinical sales specialists are expected to begin Cologuard® promotional efforts in the second quarter of 2015, educating health care practitioners to whom they currently detail Linzess® (linaclotide). Linzess® is the first and only approved therapy in a class of drugs that works differently to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) and chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) in adults. The agreement augments Exact Sciences\' 140 sales representatives with Ironwood\'s team of approximately 160 sales representatives. Under the terms of the deal, Ironwood will be compensated from the net sales generated from the physicians on whom they call. Linzess® will remain the first-position product for the Ironwood sales team. Exact Sciences will maintain responsibility for all other aspects of commercialization of Cologuard®. The companies will also collaborate on medical education initiatives to support more in-depth understanding of Cologuard® and the importance of colorectal cancer screening.
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