SALT LAKE CITY, June 2, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) and leading cancer experts from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), Mayo Clinic, Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and other laboratories are teaming up in a new partnership that will dramatically advance the understanding of the risks associated with multiple cancer genes that are being analyzed through next generation sequencing technology. Specifically, the partners will collaborate on the creation of a research study called the Prospective Registry of Multiplex Testing (PROMPT).
The goals of the study are three-fold: 1) to create an online registry of individuals consenting to a prospective follow up after having been tested with a pan-cancer panel test such as Myriad's myRisk™ Hereditary Cancer; 2) to provide infrastructure for the curation of specific genetic variants detected; and 3) to facilitate additional studies to characterize the significance of the genetic mutations. Myriad will contribute thousands of genetic mutations and its scientific expertise gained from having tested over 1.3 million patients for hereditary cancer risk.
"We look forward to collaborating with leading cancer centers to help end preventable hereditary cancers. Myriad's contribution of thousands of genetic mutations to the PROMPT study will help make this goal a reality by ensuring that researchers have access to critical, potentially life-saving information," said Richard Wenstrup, M.D. chief medical officer at Myriad. "Through this innovative data sharing partnership with some of the country's best cancer genetics centers, we can more efficiently study genetic mutations, maximize the impact of our research investments and help ensure that patients will receive the best care possible."
This announcement continues Myriad's long-standing commitment to research collaborations. Myriad currently is engaged in scientific collaborations with more than 50 academic research institutions to help advance medical and scientific knowledge and healthcare overall. For more information visit: www.myriad.com/responsibility/research-collaborations/.
About the Prospective Registry of Multiplex Testing (PROMPT)
The PROMPT registry is a database that will include patients identified with deleterious or suspected deleterious mutations in any of the cancer susceptibility genes targeted in this research study. Individuals will be offered the opportunity to join the registry by participating in a process of informed consent. The study's Principal Investigators are Mark Robson, M.D., of the Clinical Genetics Service at MSKCC; Susan Domchek, M.D., of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania; Fergus Couch, Ph.D., of the Division of Experimental Pathology, Mayo Clinic and Kenneth Offit, M.D., MPH, chief of the Clinical Genetics Service at MSKCC.
About Myriad Genetics
Myriad Genetics is a leading molecular diagnostic company dedicated to making a difference in patients' lives through the discovery and commercialization of transformative tests to assess a person's risk of developing disease, guide treatment decisions and assess risk of disease progression and recurrence. Myriad's molecular diagnostic tests are based on an understanding of the role genes play in human disease and were developed with a commitment to improving an individual's decision making process for monitoring and treating disease. Myriad is focused on strategic directives to introduce new products, including companion diagnostics, as well as expanding internationally. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: www.myriad.com. Myriad, the Myriad logo and Myriad myRisk are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. 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 the Company's participation in the PROMPT research study; the goals and anticipated outcomes of the research study; and the Company's strategic directives under the caption "About Myriad Genetics." These "forward-looking statements" are management's present 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 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 companion diagnostic services may decline or will not continue to increase at historical rates; risks related to changes in the governmental or private insurers reimbursement levels for our tests; 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 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 our 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 increased competition and the development of new competing tests 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; risks related to changes in intellectual property laws covering our molecular diagnostic tests and companion diagnostic 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 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.