The PGA TOUR has announced that Cologuard, a noninvasive at-home colon cancer screening test manufactured by Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS), has signed a three-year marketing agreement to become the Official Colon Cancer Screening Sponsor of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions.
The partnership, which includes global rights through 2020, was announced today during a press conference at the Cologuard Classic at Omni Tucson National Resort, with Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy, Dr. David Alhquist of Mayo Clinic, Cologuard ambassador Jerry Kelly and defending champion Tom Lehman in attendance.
“We are excited to announce Cologuard as a new marketing partner of both the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions,” said PGA TOUR Champions president Greg McLaughlin. “Colon cancer awareness is an important societal discussion, and one our players will look to further with this relationship. Today’s announcement allows the TOUR to create a more concrete foundation from which to develop those efforts.”
In November of 2017, Exact Sciences was named as the title sponsor of the three-year-old PGA TOUR Champions stop in Tucson. As part of the company’s marketing partnership with the PGA TOUR, players, tournaments, title sponsors, fans and TOUR staff will be challenged to take part in a season-long pledge program to get screened for colon cancer. Through Cologuard, the company will create an onsite presence at a number of PGA TOUR Champions events to encourage screening for average risk adults age 50 and over and to raise awareness about colon cancer.
Exact Sciences is a Madison, Wisconsin-based company committed to playing a role in the eradication of colon cancer. Cologuard is an easy-to-use, noninvasive colon cancer screening test based on the latest advances in stool DNA technology. It is for adults 50 years or older who are at average risk for colon cancer, helps detect both cancer and precancer, and is available by prescription only.
“The PGA TOUR is a tremendous supporter of our efforts to help raise awareness about the most preventable yet least prevented cancer,” said Kevin Conroy, chairman and CEO of Exact Sciences. “It is an honor to become the official colon cancer screening sponsor of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions. More than one in three Americans are not current with their colon cancer screening. With the help of Cologuard, ambassador Jerry Kelly, and the PGA TOUR, we are committed to ensuring more people get screened.”
Kelly, the reigning Rookie of the Year on PGA TOUR Champions, and a longtime Madison resident, is committed to spreading awareness about the importance of colon cancer screening. This season, via a Cologuard pledge program, he is challenging his fellow PGA TOUR Champions players to get screened and will be reaching out to all the rookies on Tour to make sure they know age 50 is when colon cancer screening is recommended to begin. A three-time PGA TOUR winner, Kelly earned Champions Tour titles at the Boeing Classic and Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship in 2017, and opened his 2018 campaign with a victory at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. He is currently No. 2 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings with $313,016 in earnings through two starts.
Opening-round play in the 2018 Cologuard Classic will begin tomorrow morning at Omni Tucson Resort’s Catalina Course. For more information on the tournament, please visit PGATOUR.COM. For more information on the Cologuard pledge program, please visit CologuardClassic.com.
ABOUT PGA TOUR: The PGA TOUR is the leading global platform in professional golf, showcasing the highest expression of excellence, both on and off the course. The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, grow and protect the game of golf and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.
The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 25 countries (84 members are from outside the United States). Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 226 countries and territories in 23 languages. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations in order to maximize charitable giving. In 2017, tournaments across all Tours generated a record of more than $180 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.65 billion.
The PGA TOUR's web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
ABOUT PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS: PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 35 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. In 2018, the PGA TOUR Champions schedule includes 27 tournaments across the United States, Scotland and Canada, with purses totaling more than $56 million. The Charles Schwab Cup, which includes the Regular Season and the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, is used to determine the season-long champion. All events are televised in the United States, with most receiving complete coverage on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Internationally, telecasts air in excess of 190 countries and territories, reaching more than 330 million potential households. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.COM, at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions, on Twitter @ChampionsTour and on Instagram @pgatourchampions.
ABOUT EXACT SCIENCES CORP. Exact Sciences Corp. is a molecular diagnostics company focused on the early detection and prevention of the deadliest forms of cancer. The company has exclusive intellectual property protecting its non-invasive, molecular screening technology for the detection of colorectal cancer. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.exactsciences.com, follow Exact Sciences on Twitter @ExactSciences or find Exact Sciences on Facebook.
ABOUT COLOGUARD: Cologuard was approved by the FDA in August 2014 and results from Exact Sciences' prospective 90-site, point-in-time, 10,000-patient pivotal trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2014. Cologuard is included in the American Cancer Society's (2014) colorectal cancer screening guidelines and the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (2016) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2016). Cologuard is indicated to screen adults of either sex, 50 years or older, who are at average risk for colorectal cancer. Cologuard is not for everyone and is not a replacement for diagnostic colonoscopy or surveillance colonoscopy in high-risk individuals. False positives and false negatives do occur. Any positive test result should be followed by a diagnostic colonoscopy. Following a negative result, patients should continue participating in a screening program at an interval and with a method appropriate for the individual patient. Cologuard performance when used for repeat testing has not been evaluated or established. For more information about Cologuard, visit www.cologuardtest.com. Rx Only.
There are no comments
Please login to post comments