Sanofi ($SNY) reeled in Myriad Genetics ($MYGN) to handle biomarker discovery work for a landmark study the company is conducting for one of its insulin products. Both parties are hoping the arrangement produces a large number of new biomarkers that lead to improved treatment and patient care for diabetic patients and their resulting cardiac health problems.
And Myriad stands to make a healthy return--up to $10 million in companion diagnostic service revenue over the next two fiscal years, according to the deal announcement.
The landmark trial in question: ORIGIN (Outcome Reduction With Initial Glargine Intervention), a 6-year cardiovascular outcomes study sponsored by Sanofi that evaluated the use of its Lantus injectable insulin versus regular care in more than 12,500 people who have prediabetes or early type 2 diabetes and are at high risk for cardiovascular problems. As Sanofi notes, the 40-country randomized clinical trial was among the world's largest and longest randomized clinical trials of its kind for this population of patients.
But now the study has profound amounts of data to process, and that's where Myriad steps in. Myriad's RBM subsidiary will step up to analyze more than 8,000 serum samples collected during the ORIGIN study. By using its DiscoveryMAP 250+ quantitative immunoassay panel, Myriad's task will be to identify new biomarker profiles in the patient samples.
Patients included in the study were at least age 50 or older, and had to be at risk for cardiovascular disease based on having a prior heart attack, stroke or some sort of coronary, carotid or peripheral arterial revascularization, according to trial details posted on Clinicaltrials.gov.
Sanofi funded the trial, but the Population Health Research Institute in Hamilton, Ontario, in Canada managed the whole process, along with an independent steering committee.
- read the release
- here are the ORIGIN trial details
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