SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 18, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) today announced it has obtained an exclusive license to intellectual property covering the analysis of the RAD51C gene for risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. In several studies, mutations in the RAD51C gene have been identified and associated with an increased risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
"As part of our strategy, we are committed to investing in the development of new transformative tests to improve the quality of patients' lives," said Mark Capone, President of Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc. "This intellectual property will enhance our ability to provide patients and health care providers important information on a patient's predisposition to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer."
RAD51C was identified initially as a susceptibility gene for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer by members of the German Consortium for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian cancers in collaboration with pediatric hematologists and basic scientists predominantly located at the universities of Cologne, Dusseldorf and Munich. As reported in the April 22, 2010 issue of Nature Genetics, mutations in the RAD51C gene were found exclusively within 480 pedigrees with a family history of breast and ovarian cancers, but not in 2,912 healthy individuals. Six pathogenic germ-line mutations within the 480 pedigrees resulted in a mutation prevalence rate of 1.3% in this study population. These findings were confirmed by a study published in the May 22, 2011 issue of Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. This study analyzed the status of the RAD51C gene in Finnish and Swedish families with a history of breast and ovarian cancer and found a mutation prevalence rate of 2.9%.
Through this agreement, Myriad has obtained an exclusive, world-wide license, with co-exclusivity in Germany, to provide commercial testing for RAD51C.
About Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC) is an inherited condition that causes an increased risk of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer. Today, the majority of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer is thought to be due to an alteration or gene mutation in either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. A woman who has such a mutation has, on average, up to an 86% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and on average, up to a 44% risk of developing ovarian cancer. As published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have shown that pre-symptomatic individuals who carry gene mutations can lower their risk of developing ovarian cancer by approximately 60% with appropriate preventive therapies.
About Myriad Genetics
Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) is a leading molecular diagnostic company dedicated to developing and marketing transformative tests to assess a person's risk of developing disease, guide treatment decisions and assess a patient's risk of disease progression and disease recurrence. Myriad's portfolio of nine molecular diagnostic tests are based on an understanding of the role genes play in human disease and were developed with a focus on improving an individual's decision making process for monitoring and treating disease. With fiscal year 2011 annual revenue of over $400 million and more than 1,000 employees, Myriad is working on strategic directives, including new product introductions, companion diagnostics, and international expansion, to take advantage of significant growth opportunities. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: www.myriad.com.
Myriad, the Myriad logo, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris AP, Melaris, TheraGuide, Prezeon, OnDose, Panexia and Prolaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. in the United States and foreign countries. 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 RAD51C increasing a patient's risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer; the role mutations in the RAD51C gene have with increased risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer; the role this acquired intellectual property will have in our strategy of investing in the development of new transformative tests to improve the quality of patients' lives; and our enhanced ability to provide patients and health care providers important information on a patient's predisposition to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer with this acquired intellectual property. 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 existing molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services may decline or will not continue to increase at historical rates; the risk that we may be unable to expand into new markets outside of the United States; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic services in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that we may not successfully develop new markets for our molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic 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 companion diagnostic services and any future products are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with manufacturing our products or 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 healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations 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 acquire; the development of competing tests and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect the proprietary technologies underlying our tests; the risk of patent-infringement and invalidity claims or challenges of our patents; 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 in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K 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.