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Rising
Exact Sciences: The Madison-based medical diagnostics firm wins approval from the Food and Drug Administration for Cologuard, a non-invasive test for colorectal cancer. The company says it can offer in-home testing for average-risk patients that detects more than 90 percent of cancers and nearly 70 percent of the most advanced precancerous polyps. It’s also the first product to take part in a parallel review pilot program from the FDA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, meaning CMS offered a proposed coverage memorandum for Medicare immediately upon FDA approval. CMS is expected to determine in November how much of Cologuard’s $599 price tag to cover, while Exact officials say they’re in talks with insurance companies about payment. Financial observers, meanwhile, laud the company’s approach as shares of company stock hit a record high the day after the FDA weighs in.
Mixed
UW System: The Walker administration directed state agencies last month to keep their requests for the upcoming biennial state budget flat. Instead, University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross offers a plan increasing state aid to the UW by at least $95 million, and the Board of Regents unanimously signs off last week. Cross dubs the funding increase the “Talent Development Initiative,” calling for the UW and its campuses to play a greater role in meeting the economic needs of the state. It would, in part, establish competitive grants for UW campuses and fund efforts to bolster the number of degree holders — while shortening the amount of time needed to obtain a degree by expanding course options for high school students and adult learners. It would also offset the impact of another two-year tuition freeze on the system’s pay plan; the budget again seeks authority for the regents to create a university-wide pay plan and more flexibility to compensate in-demand faculty. Those plans were shot down during the last budget debate amid the uproar over the amount of money kept in reserve by the UW, and regents — while supportive of the plan — question how it will go over in the Capitol. There are signs, however, things will go more smoothly this time around. Cross says he’s been preparing lawmakers for his proposal and that he expects the UW to have a good answer for lawmakers on the system’s reserves this fall. Meanwhile, an aide to state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater and one of the UW’s harshest critics, calls the proposal “pretty reasonable.”
Falling
Cranberries: The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects Wisconsin will yield 5.4 million barrels of cranberries this fall, which would be a drop of 10 percent compared to a record harvest in 2013. But the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association says although the overall total is down, the 2014 harvest is still expected to result in a significant oversupply. That’s prompted a continued focus on market expansion, with the state agriculture department helping to promote the state’s official fruit to Chinese food buyers set to tour the cranberry growing region this week. Meanwhile, cranberry growers express frustration with the USDA after the agency rejects a request from Cranberry Marketing Committee to cut growers’ sales to address the oversupply. In issuing its decision, the USDA cited concerns over the possibility of illegal coordination between the national cranberry group and growers in Canada. Wisconsin growers counter the agency should have raised concerns earlier, noting a USDA representative was present at CMC meetings in the months leading up to the request.
