How We Are Working to Support Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability 

By Gwendolyn Turner, senior director of DEI Engagement

Here at Myriad Genetics, we take our social responsibility very seriously. Like any company, we have goals — but with our commitment to improving healthcare for all patients, our view of our responsibility goes well beyond the bottom line. 

We are dedicated to building greater value for our patients, healthcare professionals, and shareholders; to supporting and improving the communities where we live and work; and empowering our employees to become more engaged in the well-being of their own communities. 

To that end, we recently released our first environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report, which highlights our ongoing efforts to support a healthy, equitable, and sustainable society. The report outlines actions we have taken to expand access to genetic testing, advance social justice, and increase environmental sustainability. 

For example, we have worked hard to improve affordable access to genetic testing. Last year, we provided more than $49 million in financial assistance to 86,000-plus uninsured and underinsured patients, offering financial assistance, free testing, and payment options to those in need. 

Also, we are committed to supporting underserved patient populations with our innovative science. The report details how we launched the newest version of our MyRisk™ Hereditary Cancer Test with RiskScore® which, for the first time, offers women of all ancestries a personalized polygenic breast cancer risk assessment. 

More recently, we launched the Precise Treatment Registry, a secure cloud-based database designed to advance equitable care and accelerate collaborative cancer research by enabling any physician to analyze diverse, de-identified patient data involving ancestry, geography, diagnosis, and treatment outcomes. 

We developed noninvasive prenatal testing with AMPLIFY technology that allows women with high body mass index — who otherwise could not get reliable results from this kind of test — to gain access to key information about whether a pregnancy is at an increased risk for common chromosomal abnormalities. 

To promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, we have dedicated ourselves to diverse hiring practices. At the end of 2021, women made up 61% of our workforce, 40% of leadership roles, and 33% of the Board of Directors. In addition, we announced founding support for the development of a genetic counseling program at Xavier University of Louisiana, one of the country’s leading historically black universities. 

On the sustainability front, we have recycled nearly 70 tons of plastic from our Salt Lake City laboratory since 2019. Our new Myriad Support Center in Salt Lake City is designed with environmentally friendly features including a 495-kilowatt photovoltaic solar energy system that provides electricity for portions of the campus, conserving energy and cost. We have also begun construction on a new LEED certified Silver research and innovation center in South San Francisco and a new molecular diagnostics lab in Salt Lake City. These state-of-the-art facilities will incorporate the latest advancements in scalable modular design, including automated liquid handling, reduced waste volume, and lower use of plastics. 

We continue to focus on these goals and ensure that Myriad Genetics is a force for good in the world. We look forward to updating you on more progress in future ESG reports. 

Take care,  

Gwen