SALT LAKE CITY, May 6, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN ) announced today that it has signed a three-year contract with UnitedHealthcare. The contract provides UnitedHealthcare with access for BRCA testing and the myRisk Hereditary Cancer test for patients who meet the hereditary cancer testing eligibility criteria.
Myriad's myRisk Hereditary Cancer test uses next-generation sequencing technology to evaluate 25 clinically significant hereditary cancer genes associated with eight major hereditary cancers including: breast, colon, ovarian, endometrial, pancreatic, prostate, gastric cancers and melanoma. The myRisk test has demonstrated in multiple clinical studies a significant increase in sensitivity by identifying over 50 percent more patients with deleterious mutations that place a patient at substantially greater lifetime risk for cancer.
"Myriad has been a pioneer in hereditary cancer testing for almost 20 years," said Mark Capone, president of Myriad Genetic Laboratories. "Through scientific research and innovation, Myriad is able to provide a significantly more comprehensive, next generation cancer test for hereditary cancer syndromes.
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 execution and implementation of the agreement between the Company and UnitedHealthcare for the Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer test; the ability of the Myriad myRisk test to provide critical information that can help prevent future cancers, reduce costs to the healthcare system, and ultimately save patient lives; 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.
Media Contact: Ron Rogers (801) 584-3065 Investor Contact: Scott Gleason (801) 584-1143
