Myriad Genetics Awarded US Patent For P19 Tumor Suppressor Gene

Composition of Matter Patent Covers Therapeutic and Diagnostic Development

Salt Lake City, UT
December 7, 1999

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN) announced today that it has been awarded patent number 5,994,095 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent covers the DNA sequence of the MTS2 gene (commonly known as p19) as well as primers, probes and vectors relating to use of the p19 gene in diagnostic and therapeutic products.

"The p19 gene is extremely important to the process of tumorigenesis, the origin of cancerous tumors," said Peter Meldrum, President and CEO of Myriad Genetics, Inc. "Without the regulatory role that p19 performs in the p53 cancer pathway, unchecked cell replication may occur, resulting in cancerous tumor growth. The therapeutic development potential of the p19 gene is substantial and untapped at this point, with broad application across many types of cancer."

The p19 gene is an important regulator of the p53 cancer pathway with potential application in gene therapy, protein therapy and drug discovery for treatment of many different cancers. The p53 gene is mutated in over half of all types of cancer and is the most common tumor suppressor yet discovered. In many cases, if a tumor has a normal p53 gene, the p19 gene is not functional. One of the functions of the protein produced by the p53 gene is to keep healthy cells from over-replicating. However, when p53 is mutated, it aids in the transformation of healthy cells to cancerous cells by switching off genes that normally stop new cell growth. The p19 gene plays an important regulatory role in the process by preventing the degradation of the p53 gene's protein, thus preserving the body's ability to suppress cell growth and prevent tumor formation.

The p19 gene patent is the fourth full-length gene patent, for major tumor suppressors, issued to Myriad Genetics. Previous patent awards for major tumor suppressors were for BRCA1 and BRCA2, the two major hereditary breast and ovarian cancer genes, and p16 (MTS1), which is the second most commonly mutated gene in cancer, after p53. Myriad has retained all rights for development of therapeutic and diagnostic products based on the BRCA2, p16 and p19 genes. BRCA1 therapeutic development rights have been licensed to Eli Lilly and Company.

Myriad Genetics, Inc. is a leading genomics company focused on the development of therapeutic and diagnostic products based on the discovery of genes involved in major common diseases. The Company has established two wholly owned subsidiaries -- Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which develops and markets therapeutic compounds ready for human clinical trials, and Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc., which develops and markets proprietary molecular diagnostic services and has introduced products in the fields of predictive medicine and personalized medicine. The Company has established strategic alliances with Bayer, Eli Lilly, Monsanto, Novartis, Schering AG and Schering-Plough.

The discussion in this news release includes forward-looking statement that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Such statements are based on management's current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause future results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the timely implementation by the Company of its plan to prepare its computer systems for the year 2000, the cost to the Company of such implementation, and the timely conversion by other parties on which the Company's business relies; intense competition related to the discovery of disease-related genes; uncertainties as to the extent of future government regulation of the Company's business, uncertainties as to whether the Company and its collaborators will be successful in developing, and obtaining regulatory approval for, and commercial acceptance of, therapeutics based on the discovery of disease-related genes and proteins; uncertainties as to the Company's ability to develop therapeutic lead compounds, which is a new business area for the Company; and the risk that markets will not exist for therapeutic lead compounds that the Company develops or if such markets exist, that the Company will not be able to sell compounds, which it develops, at acceptable prices.