Growth is all relative. Sales at Myriad Genetics
Like everyone else, Myriad Genetics is blaming the slowdown on the recession. Its genetic tests for cancer patients haven't experienced much of a slowdown -- the gross domestic product has very little bearing on whether patients get cancer. But about 30% of Myriad Genetics' business comes from ob/gyns, who have experienced a decrease in activity as patients cut out nonessential costs. According to one study, 14% of women have postponed their annual checkup.
Myriad Genetics has hired more sales reps and launched direct-to-consumer advertisements to get patients talking to their doctors about the tests. We should know in a few quarters whether it worked, but management did say it was comfortable with analysts' consensus of $390 million in revenue for the new fiscal year, a 19% increase over the recently completed fiscal year. That's a deceleration from this year, but it's still pretty impressive.
After spinning off its drug business, Myriad Pharmaceuticals
That growth could be relatively large, considering the potential for genetic testing as more discoveries are found. Just yesterday, in fact, a study was published about a genetic variation that predicts the response to Bristol-Myers Squibb