VLGC Virologic (MM)

ViroLogic Studies Supporting Use of Its Novel Technologies for Development Of New Drugs and Vaccines Presented at Major HIV Medical Conference This Week SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ViroLogic, Inc. today announced that data presented at a major medical conference indicated that the Company's broad portfolio of proprietary HIV drug resistance assays, in addition to helping improve treatment of HIV, can also be used in the discovery of novel drug targets and the development of new drugs and vaccines. ViroLogic scientists together with collaborators from academia and industry presented 19 studies at this meeting, which took place this week in San Francisco. "The data presented at this meeting underscores the importance of ViroLogic's technologies, both to manage HIV infection today and to the continued effort to identify and develop new drugs and new drug targets for the future," said Christos Petropoulos, ViroLogic's Vice President of Research & Development. "The increased demand for our novel assays by pharmaceutical and research collaborators further demonstrates our leadership position and commitment to HIV research and drug and vaccine development." Among the highlights was a study that demonstrated the value of ViroLogic's Replication Capacity(TM) (RC) assay as a tool to predict HIV disease progression in untreated patients. The study, co-authored by the Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology and ViroLogic, identified an RC threshold belowwhich HIV-1 has reduced virulence and is less able to deplete the immune system. In the study, the authors found that patients whose viruses had RC values below 43%, as determined by ViroLogic's RC assay, had CD4+ T-cell counts that were significantlypreserved. ViroLogic believes these findings illustrate the important role that the RC assay can play in predicting disease progression and effectively managing HIV infection. ViroLogic currently has the only commercially available test to measure HIVreplication capacity, a measure of viral fitness. In addition: -- Three studies used ViroLogic's recently developed neutralization assay to assess anti-HIV antibody activity in response to infection or immunization. One of those, presented by Dr. Steven Deeks of the University of California, San Francisco, demonstrated that in chronically infected subjects, antibody responses were not directed against the strain of HIV-1 circulating in the patient. Studies such asthese exemplify how ViroLogic's neutralization assay can be used to characterize targeted antibody responses which are relevant for vaccine development; -- Five presentations included data generated using ViroLogic's proprietary entry assay, which measures virus entry into new cells and identifies the preferred cell receptors of HIV for cell entry (i.e., tropism). These studies showed ViroLogic's expanding capability to support the numerous biopharmaceutical companiesnow developing entry inhibitor drugs to treat HIV; and -- Three presentations highlighted ViroLogic's comprehensive HIV phenotype-genotype database in the development of more accurate genotypic algorithms for evaluating drug resistance. About ViroLogic ViroLogic is a biotechnology company advancing individualized medicine by discovering, developing and marketing innovative products to guide and improve treatment of serious viral diseases such as AIDS and hepatitis. The company's products are designed to help doctors optimize treatment regimens that lead to better patient outcomes and reduced costs. ViroLogic's technology is also being used by numerous biopharmaceutical companies to develop new and improved anti-viral therapeutics and vaccines targeted at emerging drug-resistant viruses. More information about the Company and its technology can be found on its web site at http://www.virologic.com/. Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking, including the various statements relating to the data presented at the major medical conference described in this press release. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks that the Company's products may not continue to perform in the same manneras indicated in the studies discussed in this press release, whether ViroLogic successfully introduces new products, whether others introduce competitive products, the risk that the Company's products for patient testing may not continue to be acceptedor that increased demand from drug development partners may not develop as anticipated, the risk that gross margins may not increase as expected, the risk that ViroLogic may not continue to realize anticipated benefits from its cost-cutting measures, the timing of pharmaceutical company clinical trials, whether payors will authorize reimbursement for its products, whether the FDA or any other agency will decide to regulate ViroLogic's products or services, whether the Company will encounter problems or delays in automating its processes, whether ViroLogic successfully introduces new products, whether others introduce competitive products, whether intellectual property underlying the Company's PhenoSense technology is adequate, whether licenses to third party technology will be available, whether ViroLogic is able to build brand loyalty and expand revenues, and whether ViroLogic will be able to raise sufficient capital when required. For a discussion of other factors that may cause ViroLogic's actual events to differ from those projected, please refer to the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. DATASOURCE: ViroLogic, Inc. CONTACT: Karen Wilson, CFO of ViroLogic, +1-650-624-4164, or

Copyright