Genetic cancer test stirs debate.(Myriad Genetics Inc.)(Brief Article)

2002 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The contentious debate over aggressive marketing of prescription drugs and other pharmaceutical products is about to get a new twist.

Myriad Genetics, Inc., which makes tests for genetic predisposition to certain kinds of cancers, is starting a big marketing push with doctors this summer. In the fall, it will launch a direct-advertising campaign aimed at women to promote the test for breast and ovarian cancers.

As in other ads for prescribed products, viewers are urged to consult their doctors. But these ads apparently are the first of their kind to promote genetic testing directly to the public and a part of a controversial marketing effort to expand distribution of Myriad's products.

The Salt Lake City-based company has developed tests that assess an individual's risk of developing genetic forms of breast, ovarian, colon, uterine and skin cancers, and also can help determine which hypertension drugs are best for a patient.

Until now, they have been marketed only to doctors though an 85-person sales force. This summer, under a market agreement signed in December, the 600 sales agents of Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings will also begin marketing the drug tests to 200,000 doctors.

Gregory Critchfield, president of Myriad Genetic Laboratories, Inc., the test subsidiary, said the campaign is designed "to make these tests for mainstream."

He said doctors need to be more familiar with the tests, and be more attuned to patients' family histories to detect which groups of people are at risk for genetically based cancer. In the fall, a television, print and radio campaign focusing on tests for breast and ovarian cancer will be test marketed in Atlanta, Georgia and Denver, Colorado.