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Myriad Genetics' GUIDED Clinical Trial Outcome Encouraging

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Myriad Genetics, Inc. (MYGN - Free Report) announced the publication of a new analysis of the GUIDED clinical trial, using the 6-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D6).

The primary finding was that the HAM-D6 scale identified statistically significant improvements across all three clinical endpoints — remission, response and symptoms – between GeneSight-guided care and treatment-as-usual at the end of the eighth week.

The result of this clinical trial is a major stride forward in the company’s commitment toward strengthening its portfolio of depressive disorder treatments.

More About the Study Results

The GUIDED study was the largest clinical prospective study evaluating the advantages of pharmacogenomics-guided treatment for depression using the GeneSight Psychotropic test over the use of an active therapy control arm.

As part of the GUIDED study protocol, all patients in the study had the 17-item HAM-D17 questionnaire administered. The 6-item HAM-D6 score represents a subset of HAM-D17 questions that have a more direct link to depression.

Clinical studies have shown that the HAM-D6 score is better equipped than HAM-D17 at distinguishing antidepressants from placebo. The scale has also proved to be a superior measure of core depressive symptoms than the HAM-D17 scale. This newly-published analysis also proves that the GeneSight test has resulted in significant and clinically relevant improvements in patients suffering from chronic depressive disorders compared to treatment-as-usual care.

Recent Developments

Lately, Myriad Genetics witnessed a crucial development pertainingtothe GeneSight Psychotropic test.

In November 2019, the company had announced the publication of a new analysis of the GUIDED clinical trial. The key finding was that the GeneSight Psychotropic test led to statistically significant improvement of clinical outcomes across all three endpoints — remission, response and symptoms — in patients taking medications with gene-drug interactions.

Price Performance

In the past three months, the company’s shares have underperformed the industry. The stock has lost 2.5% against the industry’s 22% growth.

Zacks Rank and Stocks Worth a Look

Myriad Genetics currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

A few better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Haemonetics Corporation (HAE - Free Report) , West Pharmaceutical Services (WST - Free Report) and Omnicell (OMCL - Free Report) . While Haemonetics sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), the other two carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Haemonetics has a projected long-term earnings growth rate of 13.5%.

West Pharmaceutical Services has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 14%.

Omnicell has a long-term earnings growth rate of 12.5%.

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