VLGC Virologic (MM)

ViroLogic Announces Multi-Year Service Agreement With Schering-Plough to Support New HIV Drug Discovery and Development Efforts SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ViroLogic, Inc., (NASDAQ:VLGC) announced today that the Company has signed a multi-year, $4.8 million service agreement with Schering-Plough Research Institute, the research arm of Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE:SGP), to use ViroLogic's novel HIV resistance testing technology to support Schering-Plough's drug discovery and development programs. Schering-Plough plans to use ViroLogic's assays for the clinical development of its CCR5 receptor antagonist, vicriviroc, a potential new drug for HIV infection. CCR5 receptor antagonists are a type of HIV Entry Inhibitor, a class of drugs that is a promising new treatment option for HIV-infected individuals. The Phase III program for vicriviroc is scheduled to commence in 2005 and will use ViroLogic's PhenoSense(TM) HIV Co-receptor Tropism assay to identify and monitor patients during the trials. "We have become the preferred partner of industry leaders, like Schering-Plough, to provide them with the technologies they need for the discovery and development of new HIV therapeutics, such as entry inhibitors," stated Bill Young, ViroLogic's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "ViroLogic pioneered the use of testing to help guide better treatment of patients, and we believe our tests have enabled breakthroughs in the way clinical trials are designed. This collaboration with Schering-Plough represents another significant clinical development program in which our co-receptor tropism assay will be used." As recommended by the U.S. FDA Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee, biopharmaceutical companies are using HIV resistance testing technology to enhance next-generation HIV drug development. The industry currently has 20 approved HIV drugs and nearly 60 new drugs in the pipeline, which may require resistance testing for their development. ViroLogic's patented technology can be applied to new HIV drug targets and for use in vaccine research and development. Current ViroLogic tests for pharmaceutical development include PhenoSense(TM) HIV, GeneSeq HIV(TM), PhenoSense GT(TM), PhenoSense and GeneSeq HIV Entry(TM), Replication Capacity HIV(TM), PhenoScreen(TM), Phenosense HIV Antibody Neutralization(TM), and the new PhenoSense(TM) HIV Co-receptor Tropism assay. About ViroLogic ViroLogic is a biotechnology company advancing individualized medicine by discovering, developing and marketing innovative products to guide and improve treatment of serious infectious diseases and cancer. The Company's products are designed to help doctors optimize treatment regimens for their patients that lead to better outcomes and reduced costs. The Company's technology is also being used by numerous biopharmaceutical companies to develop new and improved antiviral therapeutics and vaccines as well as targeted cancer therapeutics. More information about the Company and its technology can be found on its web site at http://www.virologic.com/. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking, including statements regarding activities expected to occur in connection with the service agreement with Schering-Plough Research Institute discussed in this press release and the potential role for entry-inhibitor drugs in the management of HIV-infected patients. 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, risks and uncertainties relating to the performance of our products; our ability to successfully conduct clinical studies and the results obtained from those studies; whether larger confirmatory clinical studies will confirm the results of initial studies; our ability to establish reliable, high-volume operations at commercially reasonable costs; expected reliance on a few customers for the majority of our revenues; the annual renewal of certain customer agreements such as the service agreement with Schering-Plough; actual market acceptance of our products and adoption of our technological approach and products by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; our estimate of the size of our markets; our estimates of the levels of demand for our products; the timing and ultimate size 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 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: Alfred Merriweather, Vice President and CFO, of ViroLogic, +1-650-635-1100; or Carolyn Bumgardner Wang of WeissComm Partners, +1-415-946-1065, or , for ViroLogic, Inc. Web site: http://www.virologic.com/

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