ViroLogic, Inc (Nasdaq: VLGC) announced today that it had entered into an agreement with AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) to conduct a cancer biomarker study with application to Iressa(R), AstraZeneca's selective epidermal growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor. ViroLogic, utilizing its proprietary eTag(TM) assays will test tumor samples from lung cancer patients treated with Iressa to evaluate the utility of these assays in targeting patients who would most likely benefit from Iressa.

Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will provide greater than 100 tumor samples from a Phase IV trial of Iressa in the standard pathology lab format, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) thin sections on glass slides. ViroLogic will test the samples with its eTag assays for specific protein biomarkers that ViroLogic has identified that are indicative of activated signalling pathways in cells, which can drive the accelerated growth of cancer cells. AstraZeneca will make payments to ViroLogic for the project. Other financial details were not disclosed.

In recent months there have been several reports that mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene, which codes for the protein targeted by Iressa in cancer cells, as well as other genes, can indicate which patients will respond to the drug. However, it appears that more patients respond to Iressa than have these mutations, and researchers believe that other cellular processes are responsible for this discrepancy. The ViroLogic eTag assays look at cancer cells at a higher level than the gene, focusing on functional proteins, which in many cases are the actual targets for drugs. Being more proximal to the disease process and the drug's modulation of it, assays for these proteins could provide a more accurate prediction of a patient's likely response to a particular drug.

"We are impressed by ViroLogic's technology, and think it may provide new insights into complex biology," said Alan Barge, MD, Vice President, Clinical Oncology at AstraZeneca. "We hope that the new information we obtain at the cellular level with the eTag assays will have relevance clinically, to better identify specific, individual patients who are likely to respond to Iressa. We eagerly await the results of this study, and to evaluating whether we will be using these types of assays more broadly in our clinical efforts in oncology."

"We are pleased to be working with AstraZeneca," said William D. Young, ViroLogic's Chairman and CEO. "They are a leader in the development of novel oncology therapies, and we believe that our assays can enhance those therapies by offering valuable information to physicians prescribing Iressa, and to the clinical researchers developing these agents. We believe our assays could impact other drugs in AstraZeneca's oncology pipeline as well."

ViroLogic's eTag assays enable the analysis of an individual patient's tumor sample at the protein and signaling pathway level, and provide a different, and possibly more immediate and relevant view of the cancer process in that patient than do certain genetic analyses because drugs typically act on proteins. Testing for activated protein pathways in FFPE samples is a unique advantage of eTag assays. ViroLogic believes the future of cancer therapy will be personalized treatments for individual patients, and that this will require a combination of novel diagnostics and therapeutics.

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 biotechnology and pharmaceutical 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 virologic.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of over $21.4 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory, oncology and neuroscience products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking, including statements relating to the ability of the eTag technology to predict treatment outcomes, drug potency or selectivity. 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; anticipated progress in development and commercialization of our eTag assay system; the potential for use of our eTag assays in clinical development programs; the potential for use of our eTag assays as diagnostic tests; 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; actual market acceptance of and reimbursement for our products and adoption of our technological approach and products by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; competition from other companies and technologies; our estimate of the size of our markets; our estimates of the levels of demand for our products; our ability to develop sales, marketing and organizational capabilities suitable for the further development and commercialization of our eTag assays; the ultimate validity and enforceability of our patent applications and patents; and the possible infringement of the intellectual property of others. For a discussion of other factors that may cause our actual events to differ from those projected, please refer to our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Trademarks
eTag is a trademark of ViroLogic, Inc. Iressa is a registered trademark of AstraZeneca.

ViroLogic, Inc. virologic

View drug information on Iressa.