Myriad Announces New Studies Validating the Ability of Myriad’s riskScore Test to Modify Breast Cancer Risk Prediction | 2020-07-07 | Press Releases -…

SALT LAKE CITY, July 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), a leader in molecular diagnostics and precision medicine, announced today two recent publications validating the polygenic risk score (PRS) component of Myriad’s breast cancer risk stratification tool riskScore®. The publications clinically validate both the ability of the PRS component of riskScore to predict breast cancer risk in asymptomatic women and modify risk estimations for patients identified with pathogenic mutations.

Historically we’ve considered breast cancer risk most significant for women diagnosed with pathogenic mutations in hereditary cancer genes. These studies demonstrate clearly that other genetic factors evaluated through Myriad’s riskScore test can dramatically alter breast cancer risk both independent of, and in combination with, gene mutations,” said Nicole Lambert, president of Myriad International, Oncology and Women’s Health. This information can dramatically change patient clinical management and Myriad is currently working diligently to provide access to this important information for all women.”

The first study published in JCO Precision Oncology described the PRS component of riskScore in over 150,000 women. It showed that independent of other hereditary breast cancer gene mutations (e.g., BRCA1), Myriad’s polygenic risk score can add great value and precision to breast cancer risk estimates. The PRS was highly associated with breast cancer risk with an odds ratio of 1.47 (95% confidence interval 1.45 to 1.49) per unit standard deviation in the PRS. This translated to women in the top PRS percentile having a three-fold higher risk of breast cancer than an average risk patient.

The second study published in the Journal of the American Medical AssociationNetwork Open demonstrates the ability of Myriad’s polygenic risk score to improve breast cancer risk stratification in women diagnosed with pathogenic mutations in common breast cancer genes. The study evaluated over 150,000 patients and approximately 10,000 patients who were carriers of pathogenic mutations in the BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2, ATM and PALB2 genes who were tested at Myriad. The study demonstrated that patients with high penetrant genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 did not warrant changes in clinical management; however, breast cancer risks in patients with moderate penetrant genes such as CHEK2, ATM, and PALB2 could vary significantly, warranting different clinical management considerations. For example, patients with a PALB2 mutation historically have been assessed to have an approximately 50 percent lifetime risk for breast cancer. However, after incorporating the data from Myriad’s 86 single nucleotide polymporphism (SNP) riskScore test, patient risks varied between 26 percent to 79 percent (see Graph 1 below).

To view Graph 1: PRS Significantly Modifies Lifetime Breast Cancer Risk in Mutation Carriers please visit the following link: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/11ac3a62-dd7e-417a-9f08-a3a3110e01db

These are some of the largest polygenic risk score studies ever published. Patient medical management can vary dramatically depending on where patients with and without pathogenic mutations fall within the risk spectrum,” said Thomas P. Slavin M.D., senior vice president for Medical Affairs in Oncology at Myriad Genetic Laboratories. This information will help empower patients and clinicians to make more informed decisions based upon the most precise breast cancer risk estimates availiable.”

About riskScore® riskScore is a new clinically validated personalized medicine tool that enhances Myriad’s myRisk® Hereditary Cancer test. riskScore helps to further predict a women’s lifetime risk of developing breast cancer using clinical risk factors and genetic-markers throughout the genome. The test incorporates data from more than 80 single nucleotide polymorphisms identified through 20 years of genome wide association studies in breast cancer and was prospectively validated in our laboratory to predict breast cancer risk in women of European descent. This data is then combined with a best-in-class family and personal history algorithm, the Tyrer-Cuzick model, to provide every patient with individualized breast cancer risk.

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: http://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, riskScore 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 related to providing access to this important information for all women; 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.

Graph 1

PRS Significantly Modifies Lifetime Breast Cancer Risk in Mutation Carriers

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Myriad Announces New Studies Validating the Ability of Myriad's riskScore Test to Modify Breast Cancer Risk Prediction | 2020-07-07 | Press Releases -...