Peter Durkee Meldrum, a co-founder and the former chief executive officer of Salt Lake City, Utah-based Myriad Genetics, Inc. died Dec. 20. He was 71.
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Peter Durkee Meldrum, a co-founder and the former chief executive officer of Salt Lake City, Utah-based Myriad Genetics died Dec. 20. He was 71.
Myriad, which Meldrum founded in 1992 alongside Dr. Mark Skolnick, announced the death of its former CEO on Dec. 31. During his tenure at the reins of Myriad, a molecular diagnostics company, Meldrum guided the company from its infancy through several significant milestones, including a 1996 initial public offering. When Meldrum retired in 2015, the company employed more than 2,500 people and had provided more than two million patient test results. Myriad noted that Meldrum was the guiding force behind the acquisitions of Myriad RBM and Crescendo Bioscience, as well as its expansion beyond the United States.
The company also credited Meldrum with several key strategic and scientific advancements, including the discovery of the BRCA1/2 genes and the launch of BRACAnalysis, which was the first commercial test for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, the company said. Meldrum died one day after the BRACAnalysis CDx received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to identify patients with advanced ovarian cancer who have a germline BRCA mutation and are eligible for first-line maintenance therapy with AstraZeneca’s PARP inhibitor, Lynparza following response to platinum-based chemotherapy.
Mark C. Capone, Myriad’s current president and CEO, called Meldrum a “scientific visionary and pioneer in the fields of personalized medicine and molecular diagnostics.” Meldrum, Capone said, cared deeply about the lives of the patients that he served through his work at the company. He wanted to make a difference in their lives by providing “perfect test results.” That dedication to the patient that Meldrum carried during his life is something that the company continues to this day, Capone said.
“Pete’s business acumen drove our company’s growth throughout his tenure as CEO,” John T. Henderson, chairman of the board for Myriad Genetics said in a statement. “His consistent focus on the individual patient, commitment to research and strive for perfection were the cornerstones of his success and are values that we continue to cherish as a company.”
During the course of his career, Meldrum was selected by Scientific American as one of the Top 50 Scientific Visionaries in the World and was a member of the “Scientific American Thinkbank,” Myriad said in its announcement. Over his career, Meldrum received several awards, including the Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology in 1998 and the Mountain West Venture’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2001. In 2007, Meldrum received the Distinguished Chemical Engineer Award from the University of Utah, which is where he received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1970 and an MBA in 1974. In 2008, Meldrum received the American Federation for Aging Research Award of Distinction and then in 2009, he was inducted into the Utah Technology Council Hall of Fame.
Following his retirement from Myriad, Meldrum helmed The Meldrum Foundation, the family’s private charitable foundation that supports educational endeavors, artistic activities and humanitarian programs. Meldrum also served as chairman for Golden Pine Ventures, LLC, a venture capital firm focused on the development of biotechnology and biomedical companies.
