Tesaro Cancer Drug’s Results May Challenge Need for Myriad Test
- Drugmaker says patients negative for test saw clinical benefit
- Companion test maker disagrees, says benefit not meaningful
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Trial results from Tesaro Inc.’s experimental drug for ovarian cancer may challenge the need for a companion test made by Myriad Genetics Inc., because patients who tested negative and would have been screened out appeared to benefit from the treatment.
Myriad’s test, called myChoice HRD, looks for a biomarker that’s linked to better outcomes from treatments like Tesaro’s. Yet the drug, niraparib, helped a group of HRD-negative patients live 3.1 months longer without their disease worsening compared to those taking a placebo, according to data presented Saturday at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Copenhagen.