AIDSWEEKLY Plus; Monday, May 18, 1998
Daniel J. DeNoon, Senior Editor
The test, developed by the Belgian biotechnology firm VIRCO and distributed in the U.S., Canada, and Europe by Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp, Burlington, North Carolina), will be offered beginning July 1998.
Dubbed Antivirogram, the assay measures the actual sensitivity of patient HIV isolates to antiretroviral drugs. Combined with genotypic tests that identify genetic mutations associated with drug resistance, the new test permits physicians to zero in on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens most likely to benefit an individual patient.
"The combination of genotypic and phenotypic resistance testing will provide the most comprehensive guide for physicians choosing antiretroviral therapy for patients with HIV/AIDS," said John Mellors, director of the HIV/AIDS program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
"Resistance testing will be an important advance in the management of patients with HIV/AIDS. It is another tool to help physicians and patients map out long-term treatment strategies."
Antivirogram is a rapid, automated assay developed by Belgian researchers Rudi Pauwels and Paul Stoffels and U.K. researcher Brendan Larder, who together founded VIRCO in 1995. During development, the phenotypic assay was tested on more than 7,000 patient samples.
LabCorp operates primary testing facilities for a wide variety of clinical assays.
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