Completion of 20 Trillion Won Cancer Screening Deal: A New Growth Axis for Global Healthcare Companies

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) announced on March 23 that it has completed its acquisition of early cancer-screening and precision oncology diagnostics company Exact Sciences, integrating it as a wholly owned subsidiary and thereby strengthening its position in the U.S. cancer-screening and oncology diagnostics market. The company said the deal adds cancer-related diagnostic products such as Cologuard and Oncotype DX to its portfolio, creating a new growth pillar alongside its existing high-single-digit growth trajectory. Exact Sciences’s Nasdaq-listed shares ceased trading as of March 20.

In its first-quarter 2026 results, Abbott reported revenue of approximately $11.2 billion—about KRW 15 trillion—a 7 percent year-over-year increase, and a 6 percent rise in adjusted EPS. The company also warned that the Exact Sciences acquisition will dilute its 2026 adjusted EPS by roughly $0.20. Abbott reaffirmed its full-year revenue growth guidance of 6.5–7.5 percent and its record of 409 consecutive quarters of dividend payments. On March 23, Abbott granted a senior vice president restricted stock awards valued at approximately $5.3 million (around KRW 7 billion), vesting in equal installments over two years beginning in 2027.

Market observers estimate the purchase price for Exact Sciences at about $21 billion (roughly KRW 30 trillion). At the same time, Abbott is bolstering its digital diabetes-management capabilities—for example, in January it launched Libre Assist, an AI-driven feature within the FreeStyle Libre app that predicts glucose responses to specific meals in the U.S.

Abbott is a global healthcare group operating across diagnostics, nutrition, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Its diabetes-care business, led by the FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose-monitoring system, has been a core growth engine, delivering double-digit growth in recent years. With aging populations and advancing technologies driving strong expansion, the early cancer-screening and precision diagnostics market is poised for rapid growth, and major healthcare companies are combining M&A and digital-health investments to expand their market leadership.