Frances Bishopp

Staff Writer

In its fourth alliance with a major pharmaceutical company, Myriad Genetics Inc., which sells a genetic test for determining predisposition to breast cancer, will collaborate with Schering-Plough Corp. on the discovery of new prostate cancer therapies in an agreement potentially worth up to $60 million.

Under terms of the agreement, which will have applications to other cancers as well, Schering-Plough, of Madison, N.J., will receive worldwide rights to all pharmaceutical products derived from the agreement. Myriad will retain exclusive rights to all diagnostic products and services and will receive royalties on all pharmaceutical products developed by Schering-Plough resulting from genes discovered by Myriad.

The agreement provides for a three-year research program, which may be extended for two additional one-year periods.

Assuming a five-year research collaboration and the full development of five target genes, payments to Myriad, excluding royalties, would total $60 million.

An undisclosed equity investment has been made in Myriad by Schering-Plough, and under the terms of the agreement, research and development payments and milestone payments, also undisclosed, are planned.

The collaboration is intended to discover genes related to cancer, William Hockett, director of corporate communications at Myriad, told BioWorld Today. The emphasis is on prostate cancer

Of the five target genes, Myriad will specifically identify only two: a brain cancer gene, MMAC1 (mutated in multiple advanced cancers), and an unnamed prostate cancer target that, thus far, has been linked to a narrow region of a chromosome. The other three target genes are in the areas of skin, breast and kidney cancer.

Myriad scientists led the teams that discovered the complete sequence of both the BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast cancer genes and, in October 1996, Myriad, of Salt Lake City, introduced its first genetic test, BRCAnalysis, to the market. The BRCAnalysis is presented in the form of a laboratory service and can be bought from Myriad for $2,400.

Sales of the new test have been slower than projected, Hockett said, and the explanation could be attributed to the "pioneering" nature of the test. "The business we are seeing, however," Hockett said, "could be quite good for the start of a new test in a new field.

"We have full confidence in the test," Hockett said. "There are many indicators that it is becoming well accepted and we feel it will be a very important test."

Myriad's next product, expected to be launched this year, is AGTAnalysis, a test for salt-sensitive hypertension which can differentiate between individuals who might benefit from a low-salt diet and those who would not. Some analysts believe AGTAnalysis could eventually be a larger product than the BRCAnalysis test, and with approximately 25 percent of the adult U.S. population afflicted with hypertension, Hockett said there can be no doubt of the large market for AGTAnalysis.

"Some people put on a very low-salt diet, who don't benefit from a lowering of their blood pressure, have an increased rate of heart attack," Hockett said. "If you lower it without getting any benefit from lowered blood pressure, you actually could be doing some harm. Also, low-salt diets are difficult to comply with," he added.

Myriad also has alliances with Novartis Pharmaceuti-cals Corp., of Basel, Switzerland, Bayer AG., of Leverhusen, Germany, and Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis.

The company's cash on hand, as of March 31, 1996, was approximately $62 million, Hockett said. Myriad's stock (NASDAQ:MYGN) closed Wednesday at $25.375, up $2.625. *