Vanessa Kachadurian Bioscience merger of Myriad Genetics with Crescendo Biosciences

Myriad Genetics (MYGN), a developer of medical tests from molecular information stored in people's genes, acquired this week privately-held Crescendo Bioscience, another diagnostics maker with a widely used test for rheumatoid arthritis. At first glance, the acquisition makes a lot of sense for Myriad, adding a ready-made capability in a complementary line, but also this week, the scientific landscape changed markedly for rheumatoid arthritis and similar disorders, adding a wrinkle into Myriad's plans for the company.
The explosion of genetic information in the past 20 years, from a combination of scientific discovery and massively increasing computer power, vastly increased our knowledge of the way disease progresses in the human body, making this type of information vital for diagnosis and treatments. Myriad Genetics, based in Salt Lake City, develops tests for hereditary risks of several types of cancer: breast, ovarian, colon and colorectal, melanoma (advanced skin cancer), lung and pancreatic cancer. The company's tests also can help guide a patient's individual chemotherapy dosing and toxicity tolerance, as well as predict the aggressiveness of prostate cancer.