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Myriad Genetics: Evidence Street Reviews EndoPredict Test

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Myriad Genetics, Inc. (MYGN - Free Report) , a leading molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine company, recently announced that Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s technical assessment provider Evidence Street has reviewed its EndoPredict assay. It is Myriad Genetics’ second-generation multi-gene test for breast cancer. The test is currently marketed outside the U.S. and has been used to guide treatment selection in more than 13,000 patients.

EndoPredict helps patients with breast cancer determine the best treatment option for their disease type. The test precisely verifies the likelihood of cancer recurrence 10 years after diagnosis, allowing clinicians to determine which patients can safely opt for chemotherapy.

Meanwhile, Myriad Genetics has had a rough phase in terms of share price performance. In the last six months, the stock has consistently been trading lower than the Zacks categorized Medical-Biomedical and Genetics industry. The stock has lost 42.6% compared to the broader industry’s gain of 0.7%. Sluggishness in hereditary cancer test performance is considered to be hurting the company’s growth.

On an encouraging note, Myriad Genetics is making progress with its pipeline expansion plans. The company observed development in Prolaris test or prostate cancer prognosis and most recently unveiled several favorable results for Vectra DA test to predict treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. We expect the favorable EndoPredict results to boost the company’s share price.

Notably, Evidence Street recognizes the strong clinical evidence supporting EndoPredict as consistent with that of the first-generation test. They have also reached a favorable conclusion regarding the use of EndoPredict in node-negative patients with breast cancer.

Although Evidence Street does not make local medical policy determinations, this review is considered important in terms of receiving coverage for EndoPredict from health insurance providers in the Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate network. 

As per a MarketsandMarkets report, the global breast cancer diagnostics market is expected to reach a worth of $4.14 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 8.5%. Owing to the rising incidence of breast cancer and increasing awareness about early detection of the disease, Myriad Genetics is presently eyeing a larger share of this growing market. 

For quite some time now, Myriad Genetics has been making consistent efforts to establish the validity of EndoPredict in detecting recurrence of breast cancer. Last month, management announced that EndoPredict outperforms Oncotype Dx (RS), a first-generation test, in predicting the long-term recurrence of the cancer. Earlier as well, Myriad Genetics in collaboration with the Institute of Cancer Research had announced similar results for EndoPredict. The company’s plan to roll out EndoPredict in the first half of 2017 in the U.S. is expected to help it to tap into the huge prospects of the market.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Myriad Genetics carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). Better-ranked medical stocks are ICU Medical Inc. (ICUI - Free Report) , Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN - Free Report) and NanoString Technologies, Inc. . ICU Medical and Align Technology sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) while NanoString Technologies carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

ICU Medical gained 38.1% over the last one year compared to the S&P 500’s 16.7%. The company has an impressive long-term earnings growth of 20.5% compared to the industry average for the next five years.

Align Technology rallied 49.3% in the past one year, way better than the S&P 500. It has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 23%.

NanoString Technologies surged 71.7% over the past one year, better than the S&P 500. It has a trailing four-quarter average positive earnings surprise of 6.9%. 

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