Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Myriad Stokes Unfounded Fears That Competitors' BRCA Cancer Tests Are Faulty
Stat: Pioneer Of BRCA Cancer Gene Testing Slams Rivals With Overblown Claims
The pioneering genetic test, introduced in 1996, was also good for Myriad, which won a patent on the “BRCA” cancer genes and has collected more than $2 billion from its BRCA tests. But its fortunes changed in 2013, when the US Supreme Court invalidated the company’s key patents and Myriad lost its monopoly on BRCA testing. Other labs began offering the tests for as little as a few hundred dollars, a small fraction of Myriad’s $4,000. Revenue slid — even after Angelina Jolie raised awareness of Myriad’s BRCA tests by publicizing her results and her decision to therefore undergo a double mastectomy...Desperate to protect its business, Myriad embarked on an aggressive strategy to undermine its new competitors, STAT has found. In interviews, genetic counselors, physicians, and competitors said the company deployed its national sales force to stoke fears that other companies’ BRCA tests are so faulty they miss potentially deadly mutations. (Begley, 11/29)
In other news —
The New York Times: Summer Project Turns Into Leukemia Testing Breakthrough
A rare but treatable form of cancer can now be diagnosed cheaply and easily with dried blood spots instead of whole blood, scientists in Seattle announced last week. The new test for chronic myeloid leukemia can be run with a few dime-size spots on a paper card that can be mailed to a center for diagnosis. (McNeil, 11/28)
Health News Florida: Promising New Treatments Providing Hope For Cancer Patients
Promising new treatments are providing hope that a cure for some forms of cancer may be within reach. Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center are using one form of immunotherapy and awaiting FDA approval for another. (Ochoa, 11/28)
