Mayor Paul Soglin calls for response from biotech company Exact Sciences, a key tenant in the Judge Doyle Square project, after their share price fell almost 50 percent earlier this month.
Soglin requested both Exact Sciences and JDS Development LLC, the developer of the project, respond to a number of questions related to the impact of the recent U.S. Preventative Services Task Force’s recommendation that Exact Science’s Cologuard be used as an alternative rather than necessary screening test.
Exact Sciences’ fall in stock value occurred just after this announcement.
In a statement, the mayor approved JDS Development LLC and Exact Sciences’ request for an extension of the response deadline until Monday, Nov. 2, 2015.
Not an exact science: Uncertainty surrounding biotech firm emboldens Judge Doyle Square critics
City Council approved the Judge Doyle Square project at the end of September.
The development, located just two blocks off the Capitol Square, includes Exact Sciences offices, a hotel to accommodate the Monona Terrace Convention center and expanded parking.
Exact Sciences recently released their quarterly results Thursday, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said.
“The rationale behind this extension was that Exact Sciences was announcing their financial results for the last quarter of the year, and they wanted to be able to announce their financial results prior to responding to the future of JDS,” Verveer said.
Soglin touts benefits of Judge Doyle Square; derides critics
Exact Sciences’ third quarter results show 34,000 Cologuard tests were completed during the quarter, which generated $12.6 million in revenue, J.P. Fielder, Exact Science spokesperson, said. The nation-wide use of the test is set to continue on an upward trend due to demand from patients and physicians, Fielder said.
The devaluation of the company’s stock is significant for Exact Sciences, Verveer said. The City Council has a large concern over whether lenders are still willing to invest given the uncertain future of the product that Exact Sciences has built its company around.
Though City Council had received several assurances about the strong future of Exact Sciences before the federal government recommendation, some members of the council feel the initial determination to work with JDS Developers and Exact Sciences should be reversed, Verveer said.
City Council approves $200 million Judge Doyle Square project
Despite the efforts put into developing Judge Doyle Square thus far, selling the land is a proposal that still has support, Ald. David Ahrens, District 15, said.
Valued at $15 million, the Judge Doyle Square land would allow the city to collect beneficial tax money, Ahrens said.
“Our track record in trying to write proposals and guide this process has been poor,” Ahrens said. “It has been going on for four years and has cost the city millions of dollars.”
The Board of Estimates will meet Nov. 9 with the city’s negotiating team to discuss the next steps in the future of the Judge Doyle Square project.
