ViroLogic Presents Data Using New Hepatitis C Virus Drug Resistance Assay

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ViroLogic Presents Data Using New Hepatitis C Virus Drug Resistance Assay

KAUAI, Hawaii, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ViroLogic, Inc.

(Nasdaq: VLGC) announced today a presentation on the Company's development

of

a novel Hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug susceptibility assay with applications

in

drug discovery and development. The findings were presented by Neil Parkin,

Ph.D., Scientific Director of Research at ViroLogic, at the 5th biennial

HepDART meeting " Frontiers in Drug Development for Viral Hepatitis " held in

Kauai, Hawaii, December 14-18.

" Recent research advances have boosted understanding of Hepatitis C

virus

replication and provided the biopharmaceutical industry with several new

targets for potential therapeutic intervention, " said Bill Young,

ViroLogic's

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. " The HepDART presentation illustrates

how ViroLogic's expertise in virology and assay development can be applied

to

facilitate the development of therapeutics for the treatment of this serious

chronic disease. "

The study entitled, " Sequence Analysis of NS5B in Genotype 1 HCV:

Extensive Sequence Variability and Naturally Occurring Polymorphisms Which

May

Affect Polymerase Inhibitor Activity " characterized the natural genetic

variation in HCV polymerase (NS5B) using ViroLogic's newly developed

genotyping assay. The assay is currently available to biopharmaceutical

companies for generation of clinical data for evaluation of a promising new

class of anti-HCV drugs that target the viral polymerase.

Dr. Parkin also described the Company's ongoing effort to assemble a

large

database of complete genotype 1 NS5B sequences, which has already uncovered

significant diversity. By mapping the regions of genetic variability to the

structure of the polymerase, drug developers may be able to target areas of

least variation for drug development and predict potential baseline

variability in viral susceptibility to candidate anti-HCV drugs. ViroLogic

is

also developing a phenotypic assay to assess the effect this natural

variation

has on drug susceptibility.

About Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is one of the most common chronic blood-borne infections in

the United States. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, approximately 3.9 million Americans are infected with HCV.

Currently, no vaccine is available to prevent new HCV infections. Left

untreated, chronic HCV infection often leads to end stage liver disease and

is

the leading reason for liver transplantation in the United States. In

contrast to the current treatment of chronic HCV infection, a combination of

interferon and ribavirin, the next generations of anti-HCV drugs are

designed

to target specific viral proteins and directly block critical steps in the

HCV

replication cycle.

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. 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 risk that the Company's products for patient testing may not continue to

be accepted or that increased demand from physicians or from drug

development

partners may not develop as anticipated, 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

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.

SOURCE ViroLogic, Inc.