Virco and Siemens Diagnostics Sign Licensing Agreement Allowing Virco to Develop New Platform for Use in Development of New Therapies for Hepatitis C

Virco and Siemens Diagnostics last week announced a licensing agreement that will allow Virco to develop a new research technology platform to assist with the development of new antivirals for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The new platform will also allow Virco, already a leader in viral diagnostic testing for HIV, to apply its knowledge and expertise to the HCV market through the future development of new HCV diagnostic tools and services.

More than 170 million people worldwide are infected with HCV, a virus that can lead to serious and fatal diseases of the liver and is the most common cause of liver transplants in the U.S. and Europe. People with chronic hepatitis HCV face significant treatment limitations, including a standard of care [pegylated interferon plus ribavirin] that causes serious side effects and cures only 40 to 50 percent of HCV genotype 1 patients, which is the predominant HCV genotype in the U.S.

Virco expects its new platform will help researchers identify and characterize different genotypes and sub-types of HCV, and will provide detailed information on regions of the virus that could be targets for new HCV treatments. Following are excerpts from the Virco press announcement:

Virco BVBA Signs Hepatitis C licensing agreement with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc

Mechelen, Belgium, 28 May 2009: Virco BVBA has today signed a global research and development, non-exclusive licensing agreement with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc (NY, USA). Under this agreement Siemens is providing Virco a license which will enable Virco to develop and commercialize a new hepatitis C research service testing platform. This platform will initially be utilized by pharmaceutical companies for drug development support of the new hepatitis C virus (HCV) antivirals. The platform will have the potential to provide HCV clinical diagnostic testing services in the future.

"We are delighted to conclude this license agreement with Siemens, as a prelude to a new chapter in Virco's pursuit of bringing healthcare solutions to the infectious diseases market, especially for areas of significant unmet need," said Werner Verbiest, General Manager Worldwide. He added, "Virco has a considerable heritage as a leader in HIV resistance interpretation, and is well positioned via this license agreement to apply its technologies, knowledge and expertise for the HCV market in the development of novel diagnostics."

Virco recently presented a poster describing its sequencing and genotyping platform at the AASLD 2009 annual meeting in Copenhagen, April 23rd 2009. This technology platform is at the core of Virco’s efforts to sequence the HCV genome on a routine basis. It will enable different viral genotype and subtypes to be identified and characterized, as well providing detailed genetic information on specific regions of interest such as those that are targets for HCV drugs and are subject to the development of resistant mutations.

"With both this license and our technology platform, we are well placed to collaborate with other researchers involved in drug development in bringing diagnostic tools specific to addressing needs in the new era of antiviral combination therapies", noted Dr Lieven Stuyver, Senior Research Fellow, Virco. "There is going to be a paradigm shift in HCV therapy in a few years time, with a demand for new approaches to managing combination HCV therapy, such as applications in viral resistance, treatment prediction and biomarker research.”

Virco will be presenting additional data at upcoming meetings during the remainder of 2009 and welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with leading scientists working in the field of HCV diagnostics and therapeutics.

6/01/09

Source
Virco BVBA, Virco BVBA Signs Hepatitis C Licensing Agreement with Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc. Press Release. May 28, 2009.