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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
June 5, 2002
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(Date of earliest event reported)
LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA HOLDINGS
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE 1-11353 13-3757370
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(State or other (Commission (IRS Employer
jurisdiction of File Number) Identification
incorporation) Number)
358 SOUTH MAIN STREET, BURLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 27215
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(Address of principal executive offices)
336-229-1127
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(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS
Laboratory Corporation of America -Registered Trademark-Holdings
(LabCorp -Registered Trademark-)(NYSE:LH) announced the implementation
of its exclusive sales and distribution partnership with Myriad
Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN), to now offer all of the
biopharmaceutical company's predictive medicine products to 200,000
LabCorp U.S. physician clients. Physicians now have the convenience of
sending patients to one of LabCorp's more than 900 patient service
centers for Myriad's predisposition testing for breast, ovarian, colon,
uterine and melanoma skin cancers, as well as hypertension. Myriad's
genetic tests enable physicians to identify higher risk patients
earlier and take steps to detect or even prevent disease.
"Our relationship with Myriad makes LabCorp the only clinical
laboratory in the U.S. to provide the entire care continuum from
predisposition to surveillance testing, including screening,
evaluation, diagnosis and monitoring options," said LabCorp Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas P. Mac Mahon. "This partnership
underscores LabCorp's long-term commitment and leadership in the
application of new genomic technologies to the diagnosis of disease."
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL
INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS
(c) Exhibit
20 Press release of the Company dated June 5, 2002.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused
this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA HOLDINGS
------------------------------------------
(Registrant)
By:/s/ BRADFORD T. SMITH
--------------------------------
Bradford T. Smith
Executive Vice President
and Secretary
Date: June 5, 2002
Laboratory Corporation of America-Registered Trademark- Holdings
358 South Main Street
Burlington, NC 27215
Telephone: 336-584-5171
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: 336-436-4855 Shareholder Direct: 800-LAB-0401
Pamela Sherry www.labcorp.com
LABCORP EXCLUSIVELY OFFERS MYRIAD GENETICS'
PREDICTIVE MEDICINE PRODUCTS
Physicians Can Offer Predisposition Testing for Various Cancers
and Hypertension through LabCorp's Patient Service Centers
Burlington, NC, June 5, 2002 - Laboratory Corporation of America
Holdings (LabCorp-Registered Trademark-) (NYSE: LH) today announced
the implementation of its exclusive sales and distribution partnership with
Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN), to now offer all of the
biopharmaceutical company's predictive medicine products to 200,000
LabCorp U.S. physician clients. Physicians now have the convenience of
sending patients to one of LabCorp's more than 900 patient service
centers for Myriad's predisposition testing for breast, ovarian, colon,
uterine and melanoma skin cancers, as well as hypertension. Myriad's
genetic tests enable physicians to identify higher risk patients earlier and
take steps to detect or even prevent disease.
"Our relationship with Myriad makes LabCorp the only clinical
laboratory in the U.S. to provide the entire care continuum from
predisposition to surveillance testing, including screening, evaluation,
diagnosis and monitoring options," said LabCorp Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, Thomas P. Mac Mahon. "This partnership
underscores LabCorp's long-term commitment and leadership in the
application of new genomic technologies to the diagnosis of disease."
"We are very pleased to be implementing our strategic contract with
LabCorp, the leading esoteric reference laboratory in the United States,"
commented Peter Meldrum, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Myriad Genetics, Inc. "There is strong synergy in this alliance. Both
LabCorp and Myriad have made substantial commitments to the molecular
diagnostics field and the companies share the vision that predictive
medicine products will play an essential role in the future prevention and
treatment of disease."
Myriad recently announced a new predictive medicine product for risk of
a specific type of hereditary colon cancer, called COLARIS AP-Service
Mark-. COLARIS AP-Service Mark- detects mutations in the APC gene,
which cause a colon polyp-forming syndrome known as familial
adenomatous polyposis (FAP), and a more common variation of the
syndrome known as attenuated FAP (aFAP). FAP may be responsible for
as much as 20 percent of hereditary colorectal cancer, and aFAP may
underlie as much as 20 percent of all colon cancer cases.
LabCorp offers the following Myriad tests that assess a patient's risk of
developing cancer: BRACAnalysis-Registered Trademark-, COLARIS-
Trademark- COLARIS AP-Service Mark-, and MELARIS-Trademark-
BRACAnalysis-Registered Trademark- has become the standard of care
in the identification of women with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
Women with these mutations have a reported risk of breast cancer up to
84 percent by age 70, and a risk of ovarian cancer up to 44 percent by age
70. According to Myriad, BRACAnalysis-Registered Trademark- and
COLARIS-Trademark- are reimbursed by most insurance companies, and
are recognized by leading professional medical societies.
Myriad's fastest-growing product, COLARIS-Trademark- identifies
individuals who form fewer polyps, and who have a high risk of
developing colon cancer and/or uterine cancer. These individuals can
then receive earlier and more frequent monitoring and removal of pre-
cancerous lesions, which can prevent colon cancer from occurring.
Patients that test negative when there is a known family mutation may not
need to pursue such vigilant screening protocols. Colorectal cancer is
second only to lung cancer in the number of deaths it causes annually
among Americans, with 57,000 people dying each year from the disease.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 90 percent of people who are
diagnosed with colorectal cancer would survive if the disease could be
detected earlier. COLARIS-Trademark-also helps to identify patients who
would likely benefit from increased surveillance using LabCorp's co-
exclusive PreGen-26-Trademark- assay. PreGen-26-Trademark- is a
noninvasive, stool-based molecular genetic test designed to detect the
presence of cancer, especially in those patients who are predisposed to
certain colon cancers.
Another recent predictive medicine offering from Myriad, MELARIS-
Trademark- is used to identify individuals with a high risk of melanoma
skin cancer. Individuals who test positive have a 50-fold increased risk of
developing melanoma. This knowledge may prevent skin cancer through
initiation of early and more frequent surveillance and removal of pre-
cancerous lesions. Melanoma is growing at the second fastest rate of any
cancer in the United States, and is lethal within five years in 86 percent of
cases in which it has spread to another site in the body. However, when
melanoma is diagnosed early, fewer than 10 percent of patients die within
five years.
In addition to these cancer predisposition tests, Myriad and LabCorp offer
CardiaRisk-Registered Trademark-, a test that identifies patients with high
blood pressure who are more likely to benefit from ACE inhibitor or AII
receptor blocker classes of drugs. This was one of the first products on
the market to aid in determining the appropriate drug for the patient based
on his or her genetic makeup. CardiaRisk-Registered Trademark- also
identifies individuals who are at increased risk for heart attacks.
Individuals with an inherited mutation in the angiotensinogen gene are
more likely to become hypertensive, experiencing a more severe form of
the disease earlier in life.
Physicians have access to predictive medicine education and materials
through more than 700 LabCorp and Myriad sales, service and counseling
professionals.
PreGen-26-Trademark- is a trademark of the EXACT Sciences
Corporation.
About Myriad Genetics
Myriad Genetics, Inc. is a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on
the development of novel therapeutic products derived from its
proprietary genomic and proteomic technologies. The Company has
established two wholly owned subsidiaries. Myriad Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
develops and intends to market therapeutic compounds, and Myriad
Genetic Laboratories, Inc. develops and markets proprietary predictive
medicine and personalized medicine products. Myriad has established
strategic alliances with Bayer, Eli Lilly, Hitachi, Novartis, Oracle,
Pharmacia, Roche, Schering AG, Schering-Plough and Syngenta.
About LabCorp
The first national clinical laboratory to fully embrace genomic testing,
Laboratory Corporation of America-Registered Trademark- Holdings
(LabCorp-Registered Trademark-) has been a pioneer in commercializing
new diagnostic technologies. As a national laboratory with annual
revenues of $2.2 billion in 2001 and over 19,000 employees, the company
offers more than 4,000 clinical tests ranging from routine blood analyses
to sophisticated molecular diagnostics. Serving more than 200,000 clients
nationwide, LabCorp leverages its expertise in innovative clinical testing
technology with its Centers of Excellence. The Center for Molecular
Biology and Pathology, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, offers
state-of-the-art molecular gene-based testing in infectious disease,
oncology and genetics. Its National Genetics Institute in Los Angeles is an
industry leader in developing novel, highly sensitive polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) methods for testing hepatitis C and other blood borne
infectious agents. LabCorp's Minneapolis-based ViroMed offers
molecular microbial testing using real time PCR platforms, while its
Center for Esoteric Testing in Burlington, North Carolina, performs the
largest volume of specialty testing in the network. LabCorp's clients
include physicians, state and federal government, managed care
organizations, hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical and Fortune 1000
companies, and other clinical laboratories.
Each of the above forward-looking statements is subject to change based
on various important factors, including without limitation, competitive
actions in the marketplace and adverse actions of governmental and other
third-party payors. Further information on potential factors that could
affect LabCorp's financial results is included in the Company's Form 10-
K for the year ended December 31, 2001 and subsequent SEC filings.
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