Myriad Expands Diagnostic Research Collaboration With TESARO and Merck
February 22 2016 - 7:05AM
Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a leader in molecular
diagnostics and personalized medicine, today announced a strategic
research collaboration with TESARO and Merck, known as MSD outside
the U.S. and Canada, to help identify potential responders to an
investigational combination drug therapy using TESARO's PARP
inhibitor (niraparib) plus KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck's
anti-PD-1 therapy.
Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will use
Myriad’s myChoice HRD™ test and new tumor tests to evaluate
treatment response in a clinical trial evaluating the combination
of niraparib plus pembrolizumab in patients with triple negative
breast cancer (TNBC) or ovarian cancer. Other terms of the
deal were not disclosed.
“The combination of a PARP inhibitor and anti-PD-1 antibody may
offer a novel way to treat women with triple negative breast cancer
or ovarian cancer,” said Mary Lynne Hedley, Ph.D., president and
COO of TESARO. “Our goal is to use Myriad’s assays to help
enrich for those patients who will respond to the treatment and
have the best chance for success.”
“Treatment options for patients with triple negative breast
cancer are extremely limited," said Jerry Lanchbury, Ph.D., chief
scientific officer, Myriad Genetics, Inc. “We are very
excited to expand our collaboration with TESARO and Merck to
determine if our novel companion diagnostic assays can optimize the
potential for this experimental combination therapy.”
The new agreement builds upon a collaboration with TESARO that
began in March 2014. Since then, Myriad has been working with
TESARO to use the myChoice HRD test to identify ovarian cancer
patients who may respond to niraparib, which is in Phase 3 clinical
development.
About myChoice HRD™Myriad's
myChoice HRD is the first homologous recombination deficiency test
that can detect when a tumor has lost the ability to repair
double-stranded DNA breaks, resulting in increased susceptibility
to DNA-damaging drugs such as platinum drugs or PARP inhibitors.
High myChoice HRD scores reflective of DNA repair deficiencies are
prevalent in all breast cancer subtypes, ovarian and most other
major cancers. In previously published data, Myriad showed
that the myChoice HRD test predicted drug response to platinum
therapy in certain patients with triple negative breast and ovarian
cancers. It is estimated that 1.8 million people in the
United States and Europe who are diagnosed with cancers annually
may be candidates for treatment with DNA-damaging agents.
About Myriad GeneticsMyriad Genetics Inc., is a
leading personalized medicine company dedicated to being a trusted
advisor transforming patient lives worldwide with pioneering
molecular diagnostics. Myriad discovers and commercializes
molecular diagnostic tests that: determine the risk of developing
disease, accurately diagnose disease, assess the risk of disease
progression, and guide treatment decisions across six major medical
specialties where molecular diagnostics can significantly improve
patient care and lower healthcare costs. Myriad is focused on
three strategic imperatives: transitioning and expanding its
hereditary cancer testing markets, diversifying its product
portfolio through the introduction of new products and increasing
the revenue contribution from international markets. For more
information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the
Company's website: www.myriad.com.
Myriad, the Myriad logo, BART, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris
AP, myPath, myRisk, myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice, myPlan,
BRACAnalysis CDx, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx, myChoice HRD, Vectra and
Prolaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad
Genetics, Inc. or its wholly owned subsidiaries in the United
States and foreign countries. MYGN-F,
MYGN-G
Safe Harbor StatementThis press release contains
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements
related to the Company’s proprietary companion diagnostic tests;
the use of the Company’s companion diagnostic tests to identify
responders to an investigational combination drug therapy using
niraparib plus pembrolizumab; the Company’s support of, and
successful outcome of, a clinical trial evaluating the combination
therapy in patients with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) or
ovarian cancer; and the Company's strategic directives under the
caption "About Myriad Genetics." These "forward-looking
statements" are based on management's current expectations of
future events and are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
and adversely from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking
statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to: the risk that sales and profit margins of our molecular
diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services may
decline; risks related to our ability to transition from our
existing product portfolio to our new tests, including unexpected
costs and delays; risks related to decisions or changes in
governmental or private insurers’ reimbursement levels for our
tests or our ability to obtain reimbursement for our new tests at
comparable levels to our existing tests; risks related to increased
competition and the development of new competing tests and
services; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve
commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and
pharmaceutical and clinical services in a timely manner, or at all;
the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our
molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical
services, including our ability to successfully generate revenue
outside the United States; the risk that licenses to the technology
underlying our molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and
clinical services and any future tests and services are terminated
or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to
delays or other problems with operating our laboratory testing
facilities and our healthcare clinic; risks related to public
concern over genetic testing in general or our tests in particular;
risks related to regulatory requirements or enforcement in the
United States and foreign countries and changes in the structure of
the healthcare system or healthcare payment systems; risks related
to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations or licenses
and acquire new technologies or businesses on satisfactory terms,
if at all; risks related to our ability to successfully integrate
and derive benefits from any technologies or businesses that we
license or acquire; risks related to our projections about our
business, results of operations and financial condition; risks
related to the potential market opportunity for our products and
services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to
protect or that third parties will infringe the proprietary
technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement
claims or challenges to the validity of our patents or other
intellectual property; risks related to changes in intellectual
property laws covering our molecular diagnostic tests and
pharmaceutical and clinical services and patents or enforcement in
the United States and foreign countries, such as the Supreme Court
decision in the lawsuit brought against us by the Association for
Molecular Pathology et al; risks of new, changing and competitive
technologies and regulations in the United States and
internationally; and other factors discussed under the heading
"Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A of our most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, which
has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well
as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form
8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date
of the release, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update this
information unless required by law.
Media Contact:
Ron Rogers
(908) 285-0248
rrogers@myriad.com
Investor Contact:
Scott Gleason
(801) 584-1143
sgleason@myriad.com
Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ:MYGN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ:MYGN)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024