Myriad Genetics
Encyclopedia
Myriad Genetics, Inc. is a molecular diagnostic company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Myriad employs a number of proprietary technologies that permit doctors and patients to understand the genetic basis of human disease and the role that genes play in the onset, progression and treatment of disease. This information is used to guide the development of new molecular diagnostic products that assess an individual's risk for developing disease later in life (predictive medicine), identify a patient's likelihood of responding to a particular drug therapy and tailor a patient's drug dose to ensure optimal treatment (personalized medicine), and assess a patient's risk of disease progression and disease recurrence (prognostic medicine).

History

The global search for a genetic basis for breast and ovarian cancer began in earnest in 1988. In 1990, at an American Society of Human Genetics Meeting, a team of scientists led by Mary-Claire King, Ph.D., from University of California at Berkeley announced the localization through linkage analysis of a gene associated with increased risk for breast cancer (BRCA1
BRCA1
BRCA1 is a human caretaker gene that produces a protein called breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein, responsible for repairing DNA. The first evidence for the existence of the gene was provided by the King laboratory at UC Berkeley in 1990...

) to the long arm of chromosome 17. In August 1994, Mark Skolnick and researchers at Myriad, along with colleagues at the University of Utah, the U.S National Institutes of Health (NIH), and McGill University sequenced BRCA1.

Founders

The founders of Myriad are Mark Skolnick (Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medical Informatics at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

), Walter Gilbert (1980 Nobel Laureate in chemistry and Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University) and Peter Meldrum (past President and CEO of Agridyne and current CEO and President of Myriad Genetics, Inc) and Kevin Kimberlin of Spencer Trask & Company

Subsidiary

Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Myriad Genetics, Inc., has launched eight commercial molecular diagnostic products, including four predictive medicine, three personalized medicine products and one prognostic medicine product.


Myriad currently offers the following predictive medicine products: BRACAnalysis (assesses risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer), COLARIS (assesses risk for hereditary colorectal and uterine cancer), COLARIS AP (assesses risk for adenomatous polyposis colon cancer syndromes) and MELARIS (assesses risk for hereditary melanoma) and PANEXIA (assess risk for hereditary pancreatic cancer).


Myriad currently offers the following personalized medicine tests: TheraGuide (predicts toxicity to 5-FU-based chemotherapy), OnDose (measures a patient’s exposure to 5-FU chemotherapy), PREZEON (assesses the status of the PTEN
PTEN (gene)
Phosphatase and tensin homolog is a protein that, in humans, is encoded by the PTEN gene. Mutations of this gene are a step in the development of many cancers....

 gene) and a prognostic medicine product: PROLARIS (assesses the aggressiveness of prostate cancer).

Timeline

  • 1991 - BRCA1 was linked to chromosome 17 by UC Berkeley scientists
  • 1991 - Myriad Genetics was founded by Dr. Walter Gilbert, Mark Skolnick, Kevin Kimberlin and Peter Meldrum
  • 1994 - BRCA1 was cloned at the University of Utah in Mark Skolnick’s lab and published by 40 collaborators
  • 1994 - First BRCA1 U.S. patent was filed by the University of Utah, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and Myriad Genetics
  • 1994/1995 - Development of process and laboratory to perform high throughput sequencing by Myriad
  • 1995 - BRCA2 was cloned at Myriad and the University of Utah by Mark Skolnick and collaborators
  • 1995 - First BRCA2 patent filed in the U.S. by the University of Utah and other institutions
  • 1996 - Myriad launched BRACAnalysis, a predictive medicine product for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer
  • 1997 - First BRCA1 patent was granted in the U.S. to the University of Utah, NIEHS and Myriad Genetics
  • 1998 - First BRCA2 patent was granted in the U.S. to the University of Utah, NIEHS and Myriad Genetics
  • 2000 - Myriad launched COLARIS, a predictive medicine product for hereditary colorectal and uterine cancer
  • 2002 - Myriad launched COLARIS AP, a predictive medicine product for adenomatous polyposis colon cancer syndromes
  • 2002 - Myriad launched MELARIS, a predictive medicine product for hereditary melanoma
  • 2007 - Myriad launched TheraGuide 5-FU, a personalized medicine product to predict toxicity to 5-FU-based chemotherapy
  • 2008 - Myriad launched PREZEON, a personalized medicine product to assess the status of the PTEN gene
  • 2009 - Myriad launched OnDose, a personalized medicine product to measure a patient’s exposure to 5-FU chemotherapy
  • 2010 - Myriad launched PANEXIA, a predictive medicine product for hereditary pancreatic and related cancers


In July, 2009, the spin off of Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was completed. Myriad Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of therapeutic products.

BRCA1 Co-discoverers

  • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
  • University of Utah
    University of Utah
    The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

     Research Foundation
  • University of Laval/Endo Research – Quebec
  • Hospital for Sick Children – University of Toronto
  • University of Tokyo
  • Myriad Genetics, Inc.

BRCA2 Co-discoverers

  • University of Utah
    University of Utah
    The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

     Research Foundation
  • Hospital for Sick Children – University of Toronto
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Myriad Genetics, Inc.

Legislation and Litigation

Myriad Genetics is a defendant in the case Association For Molecular Pathology et al v. United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...

 et al.
Lawyers at the ACLU
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...

 serve as counsel for the plaintiffs. In the suit, medical associations, doctors, and patients sued Myriad Genetics for its United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 patents on genes
Gênes
Gênes is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Italy, named after the city of Genoa. It was formed in 1805, when Napoleon Bonaparte occupied the Republic of Genoa. Its capital was Genoa, and it was divided in the arrondissements of Genoa, Bobbio, Novi Ligure, Tortona and...

 related to breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

 and ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....

. The defendants' motions to dismiss were denied on November 1, 2009.

Parts of the company's patents on the BRCA1
BRCA1
BRCA1 is a human caretaker gene that produces a protein called breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein, responsible for repairing DNA. The first evidence for the existence of the gene was provided by the King laboratory at UC Berkeley in 1990...

 and BRCA2
BRCA2
BRCA2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the BRCA2 gene.BRCA2 orthologs have been identified in most mammals for which complete genome data are available....

 genes were ruled invalid on March 29, 2010 by Judge Robert W. Sweet
Robert W. Sweet
Robert Workman Sweet is an American jurist and currently a senior United States federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.-Early life and career:...

 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...

. Myriad filed a notice of appeal on June 16, 2010 in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
-Vacancies and pending nominations:-List of former judges:-Chief judges:Notwithstanding the foregoing, when the court was initially created, Congress had to resolve which chief judge of the predecessor courts would become the first chief judge...

. . The Federal Circuit decided on 29 July 2011 that the genes were eligible for patents.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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