BALTIMORE, and TETERBORO, N.J., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Virco, an
international biotechnology group and pioneer in HIV pharmacogenomics and
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the leading provider of diagnostic
laboratory testing, information and services in the United States, today
announced an agreement under which Quest Diagnostics will offer Virco's
VirtualPhenotype(TM) test to predict resistance to antiviral drugs used to
treat HIV. Physicians use the test to help them select the most effective
drugs for each patient.
Despite the use of highly active combination therapy, many HIV/AIDS
patients experience treatment failure due to HIV developing resistance to the
drugs used against it. Resistance testing helps clinicians select the most
effective combination of drugs for the individual patient and improve their
response to treatment.
"We are very pleased to enhance our HIV genotyping portfolio with Virco's
VirtualPhenotype(TM) test, which we believe is the only proven virtual
phenotyping test available for predicting HIV drug resistance from genetic
information," said Jorge Leon, Ph.D., Vice President, Applied Genomics for
Quest Diagnostics. "Virco's VirtualPhenotype(TM) test is the only
quantitative, proven approach on the market today for virtual phenotyping and
is based on the world's largest database of HIV genotypes and phenotypes."
Quest Diagnostics will also distribute other resistance monitoring
Services Provided by Virco. These include state-of-the art molecular and
genetic techniques to detect individual changes in the genetic code of HIV
from individual patients (genotyping) and direct measurement of the
susceptibility of the virus to all the available HIV drugs (phenotyping).
Virco's VirtualPhenotype(TM) test combines the speed and genetic detail of
genotyping with the predictive power of phenotyping. The VirtualPhenotype(TM)
test reads the genetic code of the patient's virus, interrogates Virco's
database of approximately 100,000 genotypes and phenotypes for samples with
the same mutations, and calculates a highly accurate prediction of which drugs
will be active against the virus and which will not.
"As the nation's largest provider of diagnostic testing, information and
services, Quest Diagnostics has the potential to greatly expand the
distribution of this important test, improving the health of people living
with HIV/AIDS in the USA," commented Wim Swyzen, MD, Regional Managing
Director, Virco USA & Canada. "We hope that this will have a substantial
positive impact on the treatment outcome for people living with this
challenging condition."
Virco Background
Virco is widely regarded as a world leader in HIV resistance testing and
has developed and commercialized some of the most widely available and trusted
test methodologies in the world. It is the only company to provide
genotyping, phenotyping and the VirtualPhenotype(TM), all conducted in its
stringently quality controlled and fully accredited laboratories around the
world.
Virco is a multinational biotechnology company with operating subsidiaries
in the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Virco, with
U.S. operations based in Baltimore, Md., applies the most advanced
technologies in molecular biology, automation, ultra high-throughput screening
and electronic data processing to the diagnosis and management of HIV, other
infectious diseases and cancer. For further information, please visit Virco's
website at: http://www.vircolab.com.
Quest Diagnostics Background
Quest Diagnostics, a leader in gene-based testing, co-developed HIV
resistance testing with Dr. Thomas C. Merigan's team at Stanford University in
1997 and became the first national reference laboratory to offer the test.
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.
Based in Teterboro, N.J., 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 Virco and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
CONTACT: Peter Vigliarolo of Cooney-Waters, 212-886-2200,
pvigilarolo@cwg.com, for Virco; Dr. Andrew Revell of Virco, +44-1223-728830;
Investors - Cathy Doherty, 201-393-5030, or Media - Gary Samuels,