SALT LAKE CITY--Myriad Genetics here has been issued a US patent on a new method for rapidly determining whether known genetic markers are linked to particular diseases, which the company says is an important step in its gene discovery process. "The method is used to trace the genetic markers through families which have the disease," the company explained in a press release. "The technique is very powerful in defining a narrow chromosomal region which contains a disease-related gene, in a shorter period of time and with fewer individuals required than previous methods," according to Myriad.
Myriad is a genomics and genetic testing company that has strategic alliances with the major pharmaceutical companies Schering-Plough, Novartis, Bayer, and Eli Lilly. It uses two gene discovery approaches: positional cloning and ProNet, its proprietary database of proteins, their interacting partners, and their biochemical pathways, the company said.