Benzinga | Nov 11, 2020 07:06AM EST

Myriad Highlights Presentation Of Data At American College Of Rheumatology

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYGN), a leader in molecular diagnostics and precision medicine, shared new data further demonstrating that Vectra(r) testing and three additional biomarkers, combined with traditional risk factors, can predict the risk of cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Also, presented at the meeting was a study showing that Vectra is a significant predictor for joint damage, and is a better predictor than several tested subjective measures. Vectra is an advanced blood test that objectively measures inflammation caused by RA.

"Due to inflammatory processes, patients with RA have approximately 50% greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of mortality among patients with RA, which accounts for 30-40% of deaths." said Elena Hitraya, M.D., Ph.D., rheumatologist and chief medical officer at Myriad Autoimmune. "The data shows that a newly developed Multi-Biomarker Based CVD Risk Score can accurately predict the risk of major cardiovascular events over the next three years across various subgroups of RA patients. Knowing a patient's future risk of potential joint damage and cardiovascular events, clinicians can make more informed treatment decisions with the goal of achieving better health outcomes."