Abbott to Acquire Exact Sciences for US$21 Billion — What the Patent Portfolio Reveals
Abbott’s US$21 billion acquisition of Exact Sciences is one of the largest diagnostics deals in recent years. A closer look at Exact Sciences’ patent portfolio offers insight into the technical depth behind the transaction.
Abbott and Exact Sciences confirm acquisition deal
On 20th November 2025, Abbott and Exact Sciences announced a definitive agreement for Abbott to acquire Exact Sciences.
Exact Sciences shareholders will receive US$ 105 per common share, valuing the deal at approximately US$ 21 billion.
- Abbott says Exact Sciences brings unrivalled and complementary strengths
"Exact Sciences' innovation, its strong brand and customer-focused execution are unrivalled in the cancer diagnostics space, and its presence and strengths are complementary to our own."
Robert B. Ford, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott.
- Exact Sciences says Abbott brings greater market access
"Together with Abbott, we can reach more patients, advance earlier detection, and deliver answers that change lives. Abbott's culture of innovation and global commercial reach will help accelerate our mission of eradicating cancer and expanding access to our tests worldwide, while delivering immediate and substantial value to our shareholders."
Kevin Conroy, chairman and chief executive officer, Exact Sciences.
This analysis looks inside Exact Sciences’ patent portfolio to better understand the assets Abbott is paying US$21 billion for.
Exact Sciences is focused on cancer screening and precision oncology diagnostics
Exact Sciences specialises in cancer screening and precision oncology, supporting patients before, during and after diagnosis. Its portfolio includes stool-based and liquid-biopsy tests (including blood-based assays), molecular residual disease (MRD) monitoring, and tools for treatment guidance and therapy selection.
Exact Sciences' patent portfolio shows continued growth in terms of publications
Since 2009 Exact Sciences has published 663 patent applications and received 261 granted patents across 87 patent families.
Both new filings and granted patents have increased steadily year over year, showing a clear pattern of ongoing portfolio expansion.
Their patent portfolio is international, with a strong focus on US and EP markets
Exact Sciences files patents across multiple jurisdictions, with the United States and Europe (EP) representing the two largest markets. Together, they account for 47% of all published patent applications, indicating that these regions are central to the company’s IP activity and commercial focus.
Note: WO are essentially placeholding, so technically not a country.
Their invention pipeline has been growing, but recently is showing signs of slowing
Exact Sciences’ patenting activity has historically been strong. Filing 663 patent applications since 2009. Between 2010 and 2020, the company filed around 50 patent applications per year, reflecting a consistently active invention pipeline. However, from 2021 onward, the annual number of filings has declined noticeably, indicating a recent slowdown in new patent application activity.
Their granted patents are largely based on inventions filed prior to 2020
Since 2009 Exact Sciences hare theave been granted 261 patents. Their current patent portfolio is largely based on inventions filed between 2010 and 2018.
Note: Important to note that recent published patents are not necessarily recent inventions.
How Exact Sciences’ patent families have evolved over two decades
Exact Sciences’ patent portfolio comprises 87 patent families, each containing one or more related patents. While the total number of families is relatively modest, the portfolio is broad, with an average of seven patent applications per family.
The growth-maturity matrix is presented below
The chart plots the top five patent families within each quadrant of the growth–maturity matrix, showing how representative families fall into emerging, growing, mature and waning stages.
Viewed across roughly twenty years of published patent applications, a clear pattern emerges in the evolution of Exact Sciences’ innovation focus.
The earliest families reflect foundational molecular assay formats, including general methylation assays, cleavage-based detection methods, mutation analysis, bead-based DNA processing, and epigenetic markers linked to cancer. These represent broad, platform-like techniques typical of early diagnostic development.
Over time, the portfolio shifted toward families centred on cancer detection and core workflow methods—such as nucleic acid isolation, neoplasm detection across multiple organs, and digital analysis of DNA methylation. These titles point to the period in which long-standing diagnostic approaches were developed and refined.
More recent application activity shows increasing emphasis on assay refinement and cancer-specific detection methods, with families addressing sample stabilisation, methylation-based analysis in defined genomic regions, and detection approaches for breast, colon and prostate cancer.
The newest families in the portfolio reflect emerging work on multiplexed and enzyme-based systems, including specialised nuclease substrates, engineered enzymes, encoded endonuclease assays and highly multiplexed detection constructs. These are the most recent areas of technical exploration visible in the published data.
What Abbott Stands to Gain from Exact Sciences’ Patent Portfolio Evolution
Abbott is acquiring the breadth of technical work represented in Exact Sciences’ patent portfolio, spanning foundational molecular assays, long-developed cancer detection workflows, disease-specific and methylation-based methods, and the company’s most recent exploratory work in multiplexed and enzyme-engineered detection systems. Viewed across two decades of published applications, this portfolio shows a progression from general molecular assay foundations, through cancer-focused detection workflows, into disease-specific and methylation-based approaches, and more recently toward next-generation multiplexed and enzyme-engineered technologies.
Taken together, this evolution provides a clear view of the depth and development of the IP Abbott is acquiring — and helps contextualise the scope and maturity of the innovation represented in the transaction.
The question now is - "What Abbott can build on top of this foundation"
Sources:
Abbott to acquire Exact Sciences, a leader in large and fast-growing cancer screening and precision oncology diagnostics segments
https://abbott.mediaroom.com/2025-11-20-Abbott-to-acquire-Exact-Sciences,-a-leader-in-large-and-fast-growing-cancer-screening-and-precision-oncology-diagnostics-segments