SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 02, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a leader in molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine, continues to demonstrate an unmatched commitment to hereditary cancer risk assessment and genetic testing during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As the second leading form of cancer in the United States, breast cancer kills one woman every 13 minutes, with more than 250,000 new cases of breast cancer expected to be diagnosed this year alone.
“Myriad has been actively contributing to the fight against breast cancer since 1991. We have been at the forefront of a change in hereditary cancer risk assessment and witnessed remarkable progress in the last 25 years. More than ever before, our hereditary cancer risk assessment and genetic tests deliver critical answers, providing women with more power and control over their future,” said Johnathan Lancaster, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer, Myriad Genetics. “Conquering a devastating illness like breast cancer will require even more effort. Myriad will accomplish this through pioneering innovation, research collaborations and investment. We’re optimistic that we will make an even bigger difference for women in the years ahead.”
Our Portfolio of Leading Breast Cancer Tests
Myriad’s portfolio of personalized medicine tools to help doctors prevent and treat breast cancer include: myRisk® Hereditary Cancer, riskScore™, and EndoPredict®. Additionally, the Company is advancing its companion diagnostics such as BRACAnalysis CDx® and myChoice® HRD for patients with breast cancer through ongoing research collaborations with multiple pharmaceutical companies.
Following is an overview of Myriad’s portfolio of personalized medicine tests for breast cancer:
- myRisk® Hereditary Cancer is a 28-gene panel and helps doctors understand an unaffected woman’s risk of developing hereditary breast cancer using genetic testing and family history. In contrast, for women already diagnosed with breast cancer, the myRisk test can help identify their risk of secondary cancers, help inform medical management, and may help prevent cancer in unaffected family members who inherited a cancer-causing mutation.
People can find out if they’re candidates for myRisk Hereditary Cancer by going to HereditaryCancerQuiz.com. The quiz is a brief online questionnaire that helps people determine whether they should be further evaluated for hereditary breast cancer and other types of cancer. On average, the quiz takes less than 1 minute to complete.
- riskScore™ is the newest addition to Myriad’s breast cancer portfolio and is available for certain patients who receive a negative myRisk Hereditary Cancer test result. riskScore combines genetic markers throughout the human genome with a woman’s family and clinical history to predict her 5-year and lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
- EndoPredict® is a test that combines genetic and clinical data to identify women with low-risk breast cancer who can safely forego chemotherapy after surgery and help maintain their quality of life.
Myriad is known for pioneering scientific breakthroughs and exceptional science. We bring that same spirit to our partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to develop companion diagnostic tests. These personalized medicine tests will help identify patients who are likely to benefit from certain medicines. Our companion diagnostic tests include:
- BRACAnalysis CDx is a companion diagnostic test that detects germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and helps indicate whether or not patients with cancer who may preferentially benefit from the PARP inhibitor class of drugs. Most recently, BRACAnalysis CDx was used to successfully identify patients with metastatic breast cancer that responded to PARP inhibitors and will be submitted to the FDA as a companion diagnostic for use in these patients.
- MyChoice HRD is a test that assesses a cancer’s inability to repair DNA damage. The results will help doctors identify more patients who may preferentially benefit from DNA-damaging medicines and PARP inhibitors. myChoice HRD is being studied in ongoing clinical trials for breast cancer.
If you are interested in learning more about Myriad’s commitment to breast cancer, talk to your healthcare professional and visit www.myriad.com to learn more about myRisk Hereditary Cancer, riskScore, EndoPredict, BRACAnalysis CDx and myChoice HRD.
Our Commitment to Patient Advocacy and Access
Myriad is committed to advocating for the discovery and delivery of personalized medicine for patients with breast cancer. The company has a long track record of partnering with advocacy organizations that promote awareness and research on breast cancer and many other diseases. Additionally, we believe access to genetic testing is an essential component of personalized medicine and can help patients live longer, healthier lives, while saving the healthcare system money.
Patients can access our genetic tests a number of ways, including through health insurance coverage from an employer-sponsored health plan, a health insurance exchange plan or a program like Medicare or Medicaid. Myriad also offers financial assistance programs for those who may have trouble accessing tests or lack coverage. The Company has provided more than $76 million in financial assistance to patients over the past five fiscal years (Table 1).
Table 1: Myriad Financial Assistance Contributions
| FY2017 | FY2016 | FY2015 | FY2014 | FY2013 | |||||
| $ | 20,946,808 | $ | 17,800,000 | $ | 14,300,000 | $ | 13,300,000 | $ | 10,400,000 |
Learn more about access to our tests with insurance coverage as well as the financial assistance program at https://myriadpromise.com/.
About Myriad Genetics
Myriad 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: maintaining leadership in an expanding hereditary cancer market, 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, EndoPredict, myPath, myRisk, Myriad myRisk, myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice, myPlan, BRACAnalysis CDx, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx, myChoice HRD, Vectra DA, GeneSight, EndoPredict 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 Statement
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to related to Myriad’s continued and demonstrated commitment to hereditary cancer risk assessment and genetic testing during Breast Cancer Awareness Month; Myriad’s ability and efforts to conquering a devastating illness like breast cancer; the advancement of Myriad’s companion diagnostics such as BRACAnalysis CDx® and myChoice® HRD for patients with breast cancer through ongoing research collaborations with multiple pharmaceutical companies; the overview of Myriad’s portfolio of personalized medicine tests for breast 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 described or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: the risk that sales and profit margins of our existing molecular diagnostic tests and pharmaceutical and clinical services may decline or will not continue to increase at historical rates; risks related to our ability to transition from our existing product portfolio to our new tests; risks related to changes in the 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 tests and any future tests are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with operating our laboratory testing facilities; 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, including but not limited to our acquisition of Assurex, Sividon and the Clinic; risks related to our projections about the potential market opportunity for our products; 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; 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; the risk that we may be unable to comply with financial operating covenants under our credit or lending agreements; the risk that we will be unable to pay, when due, amounts due under our credit or lending agreements; and other factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, 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.
Media Contact:
Ron Rogers
(801) 584-3065
rrogers@myriad.com
Investor Contact:
Scott Gleason
(801) 584-1143
sgleason@myriad.com
