SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Monogram Biosciences, Inc. today announced that the Texas Medicaid Program has initiated a benefit coverage policy for phenotypic and genotypic HIV drug resistance testing, effective November 1, 2005. Texas joins 48 other states and the District of Columbia to implement Medicaid policies enabling reimbursement of the Company’s HIV drug resistance assays.
Texas has the fourth highest incidence of cumulative reported HIV cases in the United States, with more than 4,000 new cases reported each year, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three out of four persons with HIV develop drug resistance, and one in four persons with HIV who have never taken anti-viral medications is already drug resistant due to acquiring the disease from a drug-resistant person.
“For patients with HIV, dealing with on-going drug resistance challenges is one of the most complicated and frustrating aspects of living with the disease,” said William J. Welch, Monogram’s Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. “Monogram continues to focus its efforts on advancing the understanding of drug resistance and offering resistance testing technologies such as GeneSeq HIV(TM), PhenoSense HIV(TM), and PhenoSense GT(TM).”
“Drug resistance testing has become a critical part of HIV management,” said Philip Keiser, M.D., Director, HIV Services, University of Texas, Southwestern, and Parkland Memorial Hospital. “Because even newly infected patients can have a drug resistant form of HIV, it is important to be tested before beginning any new therapeutic regimen to enhance the chance of treatment success.”
In addition to statewide Medicaid coverage, Medicare and many private payers provide reimbursement and benefit coverage for Monogram’s HIV drug resistance assays. Monogram’s phenotype and genotype resistance tests, viral fitness test, and other HIV assays are intended to help healthcare providers choose the drugs that will provide the greatest benefit to the individual and to help get the most out of antiretroviral therapy over the long term.
Questions about HIV drug resistance testing and reimbursement can be directed to Monogram’s reimbursement hotline at 1-87-PHENOAID (1-877-436-6243), or to www.MonogramHIV.com.
About Monogram Biosciences, Inc.
Monogram, formerly ViroLogic, Inc., is 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 www.monogrambio.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking, including statements regarding the activities expected to occur in connection with the name-change and stock ticker change. 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; 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 Monogram’s products or services; whether the Company will encounter problems or delays in automating its processes; whether licenses to third party technology will be available; whether Monogram is able to build brand loyalty and expand revenues; and whether Monogram will be able to raise sufficient capital when required. For a discussion of other factors that may cause Monogram’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. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation, to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.
Monogram Biosciences, Inc.
CONTACT: Alfred G. Merriweather, Chief Financial Officer of MonogramBiosciences, Inc., +1-650-624-4576, or amerriweather@monogrambio.com; orCarolyn Baumgardner Wang of WeissComm Partners, +1-415-946-1065, orcarolyn@weisscommpartners.com, for Monogram Biosciences, Inc.
Web site: http://www.monogrambio.com/
