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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