A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Exact Sciences (Marlborough, Massachusetts) reported that it has closed an $8.2 million private placement of 4.3 million shares of its common stock. It also said that it has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota).

The collaborative relationship with Mayo Clinic is focused on developing patient-friendly diagnostics that reduce deaths from colorectal cancer. According to projections by the American Cancer Society (Atlanta) there will be 146,970 new cases of colorectal cancer and 49,200 deaths attributable to the disease in 2009 in the U.S. It is the second-most-common cause of cancer-related death following lung cancer.

Under the license agreement, Exact has secured exclusive rights to intellectual property developed by David Ahlquist, MD, Mayo Clinic. The licensed patents cover advances in sample processing, analytical testing and data analysis associated with non-invasive, stool-based DNA screening for colorectal cancer. Under the license agreement, Exact will make up-front, milestone and royalty payments to Mayo Clinic, and will provide funding for future work in Ahlquist's lab.

Exact and Mayo Clinic also have agreed to enter into a broad research and development relationship with Ahlquist's laboratory. The relationship will provide Exact with an experienced research and development team that will focus its initial efforts on the company's colorectal screening test. Exact retains exclusive rights to commercialize the breakthroughs that result from this collaboration.

"There are very few ways to non-invasively detect this deadly, but highly treatable cancer," said Kevin Conroy, president/CEO of Exact. "Our relationship with Mayo Clinic secures exclusive access to additional test methods, strengthens our intellectual property portfolio and complements the strong relationship that we have with Dr. Bert Vogelstein's laboratory at Johns Hopkins University [Baltimore]."

Exact is a molecular diagnostics company focused on colorectal cancer.

In other financings:

• Pulmo BioTech (New York) said that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Moody Capital Solutions to secure up to $7.5 million in funding to enable the company to complete Phase II/III approvals for its pulmonary hypertension diagnostic product candidate PulmoBind.

• Quest Diagnostics (Madison, New Jersey) reported the pricing determination for its previously noted cash tender offer to purchase up to $200 million total aggregate principal amount of its 5.125% senior notes due 2010 and 7.50% senior notes due 2011.

Quest Diagnostics will pay holders who tendered and did not withdraw their notes at or prior to 5 p.m., EDT on June 2 the total tender offer consideration of $1,021.49 for each $1,000 principal amount of its 5.125% senior notes due 2010 accepted for purchase and $1,050.44 for each $1,000 principal amount of its 7.50% senior notes due 2011 accepted for purchase, plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest up to, but not including, the settlement date.