SALT LAKE CITY, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), a leader in molecular diagnostics and precision medicine, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the myChoice CDx® test for use as a companion diagnostic by healthcare professionals to identify advanced ovarian cancer patients with positive homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) status, who are eligible or may become eligible, for first-line maintenance treatment with Lynparza (olaparib) in combination with bevacizumab. Lynparza (olaparib) is a novel PARP inhibitor jointly developed and commercialized by AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN) and Merck, known as MSD outside of the U.S. and Canada.
“We congratulate AstraZeneca and Merck on obtaining another FDA approval of Lynparza for women with advanced ovarian cancer,” said Nicole Lambert, president of Myriad Oncology and Women’s Health. “The approval of the myChoice CDx test will help clinicians quickly identify the potential one in two women whose ovarian cancer is HRD positive and who will likely respond to targeted therapy.”
myChoice CDx is the most comprehensive HRD test and identifies people with tumors that have lost the ability to repair double-stranded DNA breaks, resulting in increased susceptibility to DNA-damaging drugs such as PARP inhibitors. In the PAOLA-1 trial, which compared the efficacy of Lynparza in combination with bevacizumab versus bevacizumab alone, enrolled patients were tested by the myChoice CDx test.
“The approval of the myChoice CDx test builds on our shared goal with Myriad to accelerate precision diagnosis and treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer,” said Ruth March, senior vice president, Precision Medicine, AstraZeneca. “We are excited that women with advanced ovarian cancer who test positive for HRD with the myChoice CDx test at time of diagnosis can now access Lynparza in the first-line maintenance treatment setting in combination with bevacizumab.”
Myriad has been collaborating with AstraZeneca since 2007 on the development of companion diagnostics for Lynparza. Lynparza is a trademark of AstraZeneca.
About Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cause of death from cancer in women worldwide. In 2018, there were nearly 300,000 new cases diagnosed and around 185,000 deaths. Most women are diagnosed with advanced (Stage III or IV) ovarian cancer and have a five-year survival rate of approximately 30 percent. For patients with advanced ovarian cancer, the primary aim of first-line treatment is to delay progression of the disease for as long as possible and maintain the patient’s quality of life with the intent of achieving complete remission.
About myChoice CDx
Myriad's myChoice CDx is the most comprehensive homologous recombination deficiency test, enabling physicians to identify patients with tumors that have lost the ability to repair double-stranded DNA breaks, resulting in increased susceptibility to DNA-damaging drugs such as platinum drugs or PARP inhibitors. The myChoice CDx test comprises tumor sequencing of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and a composite of three proprietary technologies (loss of heterozygosity, telomeric allelic imbalance and large-scale state transitions).
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: 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, Myriad myRisk, myRisk Hereditary Cancer, myChoice, myPlan, BRACAnalysis CDx, Tumor BRACAnalysis CDx, myChoice CDx, Vectra, Prequel, Foresight, GeneSight, Prolaris and riskScore 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 related to helping clinicians quickly identify the potential one in two women whose ovarian cancer is HRD positive and potentially eligible for targeted therapy; accelerating precision diagnosis and treatment for women with advanced ovarian cancer; patients being able to access Lynparza in the first-line maintenance treatment setting in combination with bevcizumab; 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: uncertainties associated with COVID-19, including its possible effects on our operations and the demand for our products and services; our ability to efficiently and flexibly manage our business amid uncertainties related to COVID-19; 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 decisions in Mayo Collab. Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 566 U.S. 66 (2012), Ass’n for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., 569 U.S. 576 (2013), and Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Int’l, 573 U.S. 208 (2014); 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 for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, 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:
Jared Maxwell
(801) 505-5027
jmaxwell@myriad.com
Investor Contact:
Scott Gleason
(801) 584-1143
sgleason@myriad.com
