Past EventDiagnostic Testing for Targeted Cancer Therapeutics

Patrick Burke, Executive Vice President, Emerging Products at Myriad Genetics Inc. will be our speaker.

Personalized medicine attempts to tailor medical treatment to the individual’s characteristics and in oncology targets an individual’s tumor with a therapy tailored to the specific characteristics of a tumor. Successful development of targeted therapeutics often relies upon co-development with companion diagnostics. Identifying a specific, responsive patient population within a larger population can enable the approval of a therapeutic, but limit its intended use. After initial approval, continued co-development of companion diagnostics with targeted therapies can lead to market expansion and, in the end, more effective use a therapy.

Myriad is developing a portfolio of companion diagnostics which support the development of a novel class of targeted cancer therapeutics — poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPi). BRACAnalysis CDx, the first of the products in the portfolio, is an FDA-approved  in vitro diagnostic which is used as an aid in identifying ovarian cancer patients eligible for treatment with Lynparza™ (olaparib), the first FDA-approved PARPi. BRACAnalysis clearly and effectively identifies patients with germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, a responsive patient population; however, it is also clear that there is an additional subset of patients who may be responsive and who could potentially benefit from treatment with PARPi’s.

Speaker Bio:  Patrick Burke, Executive Vice President, Emerging Products at Myriad Genetics Inc. joined the company in 2001. In his current role he oversees New Product Planning, Business Development and Project Management. Previously, Dr. Burke served as Vice President of Strategic Collaborations and held positions of increasing responsibility within the Business and Corporate Development group at Myriad. Between 2009 and 2011, he served as Vice President of Corporate and Business Development at Myrexis, Inc., a subsidiary of the company. Dr. Burke is an active member of Licensing Executive Society and the Association of University Technology Managers. He earned his Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the University of Utah School of Medicine and his B.A. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, San Diego.