By Kim Coghill

Washington Editor

Myriad Genetics Inc. acquired from Encore Pharmaceuticals Inc. the rights to develop, manufacture and market a drug aimed at prevention and treatment of prostate, colon and other cancers.

In Phase IIa human clinical trials, the compound (known as E-7869 under Encore) demonstrated a promising safety profile in both healthy individuals and prostate cancer patients. Myriad intends to submit data from the trials to the FDA by the end of the first quarter 2001 and hopes to initiate a pivotal study by the end of next year, said Adrian Hobden, president of Salt Lake City-based Myriad.

"This compound is in line with our strategy of developing less-toxic and effective drugs in the treatment of cancer and it accelerates our timeline for the commercialization of a therapeutic product," Hobden said. "Furthermore, it complements our internal drug discovery programs and we expect compounds coming out of those programs to complement this drug and the combination of those drugs to be even more effective in the treatment of cancer."

Myriad's stock (NASDAQ: MYGN) closed Friday at $108.75, up $14.93, or 16 percent.

Once approved, MPC-7869 would be sold through Myriad's oncology sales force of 50, which currently markets predictive medicine products in the fields of breast cancer and colon cancer to medical and surgical oncologists throughout the United States.

Myriad acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to MPC-7869 for a "modest up-front equity investment and for several development milestones on the course ending with the filing of the NDA and then royalties based on the sales of the drug," said Bill Hockett, Myriad's vice president of corporate communications.

MPC-7869 represents a novel, highly specific approach to cancer therapy that, unlike widely used chemotherapy drugs, does not show generalized toxicity or its corresponding side effects.

Furthermore, Hobden said Myriad is interested in MPC-7869 because of its prevention possibilities. "Myriad Genetics [in June 2000] reported the identification of a prostate cancer predisposition gene, HPC2, and we have the intention of bringing a prostate cancer predisposition test in the not-too-distant future."

Hockett added: "We are developing what we see as a new paradigm of identifying patients as high-risk through our predictive medicine group and then treating them with these drugs that can prevent the disease all together."

The discovery of HPC2 allows Myriad scientists to more thoroughly investigate the full spectrum of genetic mutations associated with prostate cancer and the role they play in the development of disease.

Prostate cancer accounts for more than 35 percent of all cancer incidents in men. More than 200,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States, of which 5 percent to 10 percent are thought to be genetically determined.

A series of experiments was performed with MPC- 7869 in animal models of prostate and colon cancer. The APC min+/- mouse model is believed to mirror the spontaneous formation of polyps, which are precursors of cancerous tumors, in humans. In the model, MPC-7869 reduced tumor area by about 99 percent. Another study in the same model showed that after 180 days, all of the animals treated with MPC-7869 survived vs. only 27 percent survival among untreated animals. Although 27 percent of the untreated animals survived, they had extensive tumors, while all of the treated animals remained healthy through the 180-day study period.

Barbara Loughman, executive vice president of drug development and medical affairs for Loma Linda, Calif.-based Encore, said Encore licensed MPC-7869 because "our research is in very early development, and it would take an organization with Myriad's capabilities to take [the compound] to the next step. We intend to be involved as much as we can, but it is theirs to do now and we're really excited about it."

Encore, founded in 1997, will focus its therapeutic research and development efforts on the advancement of additional products in its pipeline, in particular, gama-tocopherol metabolite, a member of the vitamin E family, designated E-8110.

Myriad, founded in 1991, combines several approaches to gene discovery and therapeutic target identification, including analysis of Utah genealogy databases, protein interaction network analysis and advanced bioinformatics, including mapping, sequencing and cloning technologies. Via this approach, Myriad discovered the complete sequence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast and ovarian cancer genes, CHD1 heart disease gene, MMAC1 glioma gene, MTS1 melanoma gene and MTS2 and MTS3 cancer genes.

Myriad has strategic alliances with several major corporations, including Madison, N.J.-based Schering-Plough Corp., which was involved in the discovery of the prostate cancer susceptibility gene. Schering-Plough paid Myriad $1 million under terms of their 1997 research collaboration agreement following discovery.