Abbott announced a definitive agreement to acquire Exact Sciences for $23 billion, a transaction the company says will immediately expand its diagnostics footprint into oncology screening, therapy selection and minimal residual disease monitoring. Abbott CEO Robert Ford described the deal as a strategic move to answer three clinical questions—diagnosis, treatment selection and remission monitoring—using Exact’s portfolio including Cologuard, Oncotype Dx and MRD assays. Analysts cited in press coverage framed the purchase as the largest-ever deal in diagnostics and a validation of the single-site central-lab model that Exact and rivals have pursued. The companies expect the transaction to close in Q2 2026 and told investors the deal will be accretive to margins. Industry consultants and equity analysts noted the acquisition may spur further consolidation across precision oncology testing, pointing to Guardant, Natera and others as potential targets now that the strategic value of integrated lab-plus-assay models is clearer. Regulatory timing and integration of lab operations will be key near-term items to watch. Clarification: ‘‘single-site central lab’’ refers to centralized laboratory operations that perform high-complexity molecular assays at scale rather than distributing testing across many small reference labs.