NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Myriad Genetics will conduct homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) testing on patients enrolled in PharmaMar's Phase II clinical study for its anti-tumor drug candidate under a deal announced after the close of the market on Tuesday.
Myriad said it will conduct HRD testing for patients in a clinical study for PM1183, PharmaMar's drug candidate that induces double-stranded DNA breaks to cause cell death. The partnership, Myriad said, is the first publicly announced commercial deal covering its new HRD test.
Using information gathered through the collaboration, the partners aim to learn more about the role of HRD status in PM1183 response.
Myriad said its test can detect when tumors can no longer repair DNA damage, making them more susceptible to DNA-damaging drugs, such as PM1183. The test "directly measures the end result of the loss of the DNA repair function regardless of the genomic causation," the Salt Lake City-based molecular diagnostics company said, adding that the test has demonstrated an ability to predict drug response in both ovarian cancer patients and triple-negative breast cancer patients.
"We believe HRD status is the most effective mechanism for assessing patient response to DNA-damaging drugs and look forward to working closely with PharmaMar on this exciting new companion diagnostic program," Myriad President and CEO Peter Meldrum said in a statement.
Financial and other terms of the agreement were not revealed.