Deutsche Bank upgraded Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN), as it believes the risk/reward is now balanced following the company below-consensus sales and earnings per share guidance for 2018. The firm upgraded the rating from Sell to Hold, with the price target at $28. At time of writing, shares of Myriad Genetics were rallying 3.19 percent to $28.75. Analyst Dan Leonard said he was earlier concerned that the Street numbers were too high and didn't sufficiently reflect downside in the company's Hereditary Cancer Testing, or HTC, business, which accounts for 74 percent of the total sales. The company's sales guidance for 2018 was 4 percent below the Street estimates at the midpoint, the analyst noted. See also: August PDUFA Dates: Biotech Investors Stay Tuned To A Month Of Plenty Deutsche Bank believes the price erosion in the core hereditary cancer testing business is likely to be metered post 2019, given that cost of HCT isn't a large portion of spend at any given payer. Additionally, the firm noted that payers have historically used prior authorization as the primary lever to limit genetic testing spend, rather than price. The firm said payers may not prefer discriminating between providers, given the challenge posed … Continue reading →

Its a marketing trope often repeated in viral,feel-good commercials for genetic ancestry tests: If we only knew just how related we all were, even distantly, then prejudice and racism would cease to exist. But new research at the University of California, Los Angeles, finds the opposite: White supremacists do not especially care what their genetic ancestry tests show, if they reveal anything that doesnt conform with their claimed white heritage. At the same time, these genetic tests may actually be exciting to white supremacists because it gives them a scientific argument for the diversity of the European race, which helps them appropriate the language of diversity and multiculturalism for hateful purposes. The findings, presented at the American Sociological Association this week and to be published in a forthcoming journal article, are a sober reminder that it takes a lot more than genetic proof of multiethnic ancestry to dissuade hard-core racists from their hateful ideology. In fact, the tests may bolster some of their beliefs. We cant rely on genetic information to turn white nationalists away from their views, researcher Aaron Panofsky wrote in an email to HuffPost. I saw a tweet that said we should crowdfund [genetic ancestry tests] for … Continue reading →

South San Francisco, CA-based Fluidigm Corporation FLDM , a leading player in the analysis of single cells and industrial application of genomics, recently announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Baylor Genetics. Per the agreement, Fluidigm licensed the rights to commercialize the CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator) library prep assay developed by Baylor Genetics for research purposes. This would be used with its proprietary Juno automated microfluidic system. The targeted library prep assay enables accurate identification of variants from each of the 27 exons in the CFTR gene and selected intronic regions. When combined with Fluidigm microfluidics, this solution has the potential to significantly simplify complex labor-intensive laboratory workflows and improve the efficiency of CFTR sequencing. This would invariably improve the efficiency of its Juno automated microfluidic system and help the company to capture a considerable market share. Next-generation sequencing offers a more comprehensive approach to CFTR genetic analysis by allowing a complete view of the sequence. Targeted sequencing library prep workflows, however, can be very labor-intensive. With the application of Fluidigm automated microfluidics technology, library preparation can be streamlined to provide significant efficiencies. Over the past one month, Fluidigm has underperformed the broader industry . … Continue reading →

In BriefResearchers have established a new method of controlling the movements of mice in an attempt to better understand the workings of the brain. Genetic engineered mouse brains respond to temperature and electric current with the flick of a switch. This research could help people with mental health issues. A team of researchers at the University of Buffalo has used magneto-thermal stimulation to control the movements of mice. These results were achieved working with mice that had been genetically engineered such that targeted neurons would produce ion channels sensitive and even receptive to temperature. Nanoparticles consisting of a cobalt-ferrite core coated in manganese ferrite were injected into the brain, attaching themselves to neurons. Applying an alternating magnetospherecauses the magnetization of these nanoparticles to switch back and forth, raising their temperature. As a result, the ion channels open up, causing the associated neurons to fire. This research isnt really about bossing mice around its about linking specific parts of the brain to the movements and behaviors they control. Understanding how the brain works in this respect could help develop treatments for conditions that affect particular groups of neurons, including Parkinsons disease, dystonia, and traumatic brain injuries. There is a lot of … Continue reading →

AN EAST Yorkshire company has agreed an initial five-year contract to supply beef genetics to a French co-operative. The Stabiliser Cattle Company (SCC) of Givendale, near Pocklington, York, has signed an agreement for Bovinext to be the exclusive provider of Stabiliser genetics to French breeders. Stabilisers continue to be the fastest growing breed of cattle in the UK, and their moderate, easy calving frame with high fertility and efficient feed conversion traits opened the gates to the new international export market. Laurent Rouyer, president of Bovinext, said French farmers are increasingly aware of their native breeds becoming too big for the market and not delivering consistent, high-marbled meat quality for which there is growing consumer demand. He said these factors, and the desire to increase farm margins had generated a lot of excitement on the French market with 50 breeders already making plans to use Stabiliser semen and embryos. The initial five year contract is set to deliver genetics through extensive semen sales and embryo transfers, with an initial target of 1,000 Stabiliser breeding females in France. Live cattle exports will also be a crucial component of meeting the target and the first set of breeding heifers will arrive in … Continue reading →

Gov. Pete Ricketts was on hand Tuesday to help celebrate the opening of Hendrix Genetics new hatchery in Grand Island. The $18.5 million facility at 2325 W. Schimmer Drive covers 20 acres in the northeast section of Grand Islands Platte Valley Industrial Park-East. Along with Ricketts, representatives of Hendrix Genetics from Europe and North America were in attendance. The new hatchery operation will serve 10 percent of the U.S. market demand. It is a fantastic state-of-the-art facility for this hatchery, said Ricketts, who toured the facility with Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Greg Ibach. The governor called the plant a great example of value-added agriculture and how we are going to grow Nebraska. It is not only a $20 million investment here that will create between 40 to 50 jobs, but it is going to allow area farmers to put up these barns for the eggs that will supply this hatchery and a diversified revenue stream for those farmers who are participating, Ricketts said. The farmers who are putting up the barns to raise the eggs for Hendrix Genetics will be feeding their layers feed thats coming from out state, he said. It is an example of how we take … Continue reading →