TETERBORO, N.J., Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
(NYSE: DGX), the nation's leading provider of gene-based medical testing,
information and services, announced that its researchers, in collaboration
with the Center for AIDS Research at Stanford University School of Medicine,
have identified a new mutation of HIV-1 that is associated with reduced
susceptibility to reverse transcriptase inhibitors, a class of antiviral
drugs. Identification of this new mutation gives physicians additional
information that allows them to better target effective treatment of HIV-1 in
their patients. The findings, which were published recently in the Journal of
Virology, are being utilized by Quest Diagnostics to report laboratory results
for its HIV-1 Genotyping test.
Hasnah Hamdan, Ph.D., Research and Development Manager at Quest
Diagnostics' Nichols Institute, co-authored the publication with Mark A.
Winters and colleagues at Stanford's Center for AIDS Research, which is
directed by Thomas C. Merigan, M.D., George E. and Lucy Becker Professor of
Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Merigan is also an
Academic Associate of Quest Diagnostics.
"Quest Diagnostics has been the leader in HIV resistance testing since
1997, and has made significant contributions to patient care and scientific
discovery along with our partners at Stanford University," said Surya
N. Mohapatra, Ph.D., President and Chief Operating Officer of Quest
Diagnostics.
Quest Diagnostics co-developed HIV resistance testing with Dr. Merigan's
team at Stanford in 1997 and became the first national reference laboratory to
offer the test. Quest Diagnostics has accumulated a large database of HIV-1
sequence information, which has been instrumental in identifying these new
mutations and will continue to be valuable for identification of other new
mutations in HIV-1 as they become prevalent.
The publication reports on genotypic, phenotypic, and modeling studies of
the amino acids deletion in the beta 3-beta 4 region of the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 reverse transcriptase (RT) gene that is
associated with resistance to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The
findings, which are available in the November, 2000, issue of the Journal of
Virology, indicate that the deletion in the RT gene causes reduction in
susceptibility to between four and eight RT inhibitors frequently used in
HIV-1 therapy.
Previously this team of Quest Diagnostics and Stanford researchers had
reported a 6-basepair insertion in the reverse transcriptase gene of HIV-1,
which confers resistance to multiple nucleoside inhibitors. The report was
published in the November, 1998, edition of the Journal of Clinical
Investigation. More recently, the Stanford team, using Quest Diagnostics' HIV
database and specimens, has identified an insertion in the protease gene of
HIV-1 strains from patients failing antiretroviral therapy. That study was
published in May, 2000, as an abstract in the journal Antiviral Therapy
(2000:5, Supplement 3).
Quest Diagnostics' gene-based testing focuses on infectious disease,
oncology and hereditary conditions, and helps physicians target individual
treatment regimes, monitor resistance to therapies and predict predisposition
to various genetic conditions. Quest Diagnostics is a leading innovator in
genomics testing, both through its research and development center and
esoteric testing laboratory, the world-renowned Nichols Institute, as well as
through alliances with leading academic and commercial researchers.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics is the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing,
information and services with annualized revenues of more than $3 billion. The
testing performed on human specimens helps doctors diagnose, treat and monitor
disease; enables employers to detect workplace drug abuse; and supports
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in clinical trials of new
therapeutics worldwide. Quest Informatics analyzes laboratory and other
medical data to help health care providers improve the care of patients.
Additional company information can be found on the Internet at:
http://www.questdiagnostics.com.
SOURCE Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
CONTACT: Media - Gary Samuels, 201-393-5700, or Investors - Cathy