Intermountain Health will end and divest its Precision Genomics Laboratory Feb. 1.
The 33-hospital system introduced Intermountain Precision Genomics in 2014. "Over the past 10 years, the precision medicine market has rapidly evolved, new partners have entered, and this work has become financially unsustainable," the nonprofit health system said.
IPG offers genetic sequencing for patients with advanced cancers to identify specific DNA targets for personalized drugs. Intermountain has said the program has been financially unsustainable for several years. The system cut 38 jobs within IPG last year in an attempt to reverse course and redesign the model from one of long-term research to one focused on patient application.
Less than a year later, the system announced its decision to close and sell off parts of the unit. With this move, Intermountain is eliminating the roles of 18 employees.
Intermountain will sell its precision genomics laboratory and two tests that analyze the DNA of tumors and blood — TheraMap: Solid Tumor and TheraMap: Liquid Biopsy — to Myriad Genetics, a Salt Lake City-based genetic testing and precision medicine company and Intermountain partner. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed and, as Myriad noted in its news release, "are not material to either Myriad or Intermountain Healthcare."
Two other tests performed by IPB — RxMatch and TheraMap Myeloid Malignancies — will be discontinued. The system notes that Intermountain providers will continue to use genomic testing from outside partners and comparable tests will be available to order through non-Intermountain precision medicine laboratories.
Genomic testing of tumors can cost upwards of $10,000 with the prices of targeted treatments often exceeding $100,000 a year. Health insurance coverage of genomic sequencing has long been inconsistent. While coverage of single gene tests is common and expanding for targeted multigene panels in solid tumors, coverage of comprehensive genomic profiling (more than 50 genes) remains limited, according to a 2023 report commissioned by the American Cancer Society. Payers do not cover concurrent liquid biopsy and solid tumor tissue testing.