Sensitivity Enhancements to Monogram's Trofile(TM) Assay Demonstrate Improved Power to Select Patients for CCR5 Antagoni...( SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO Calif. June 1...)

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Monogram Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: MGRM) today announced that data related to the enhanced performance of the company's HIV tropism assay were presented in an oral presentation at the 17th International HIV Drug Resistance Workshop in Sitges, Spain. Trofile was introduced commercially upon FDA approval of Selzentry(TM) (maraviroc), Pfizer's first in class CCR5 antagonist, in August 2007. Recent enhancements to Monogram's Trofile(TM) HIV co-receptor tropism assay have made it substantially more sensitive at identifying minor subpopulations of CXCR4-using virus (X4 or dual/mixed (D/M) tropic) that may portend treatment failure with CCR5 antagonists. The Trofile assay is now capable of detecting CXCR4 tropic virus existing at levels as low as, or in some cases lower than, 0.3% of the total virus population. At levels of X4 using virus as low as 0.3%, Trofile is 100% sensitive.

"The CCR5 antagonist class of drugs has become an important addition to the choice of therapies for treatment of HIV," said Eric Daar, M.D., Chief of HIV Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. "Selecting the right patients is critical, not just for the appropriate use of CCR5 antagonists but also to protect the other drugs in the patient's regimen from unnecessary exposure to the development of resistance. The availability of Trofile with enhanced sensitivity now provides further confidence for physicians that treatment choices can be properly assessed."

In an oral presentation during the session on "New Resistance Technologies and Interpretations," Monogram scientist Dr. Jacqueline Reeves presented an analysis of subjects from the AIDS Clinical Trials Group 5211 (ACTG 5211) study. ACTG 5211
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