Lab21 completes partnership deal with Monogram Biosciences to enable launch of HIV Trofile^TM assay in UK

Lab21, a leading provider of health and environmental diagnostics, is delighted to have secured an exclusive partnership with Monogram Biosciences Inc. to provide access to the HIV Trofile™ assay in the UK. The agreement will see Lab21 provide operations and logistic services for the new assay which is a companion diagnostic used in the patient selection process for Pfizer’s new antiretroviral treatment Celsentri™.

Celsentri™ is the first in its class of new HIV inhibitors, and HIV patients should be pre-screened for the “tropism” of their virus prior to initiation of therapy. Monogram’s Trofile™ assay is the only clinically validated way to determine this. Monogram will use Lab21’s state of the art logistics and operations capabilities to ensure that samples are properly collected and rapidly transported to Monogram’s laboratory in South San Francisco where they will be tested. Lab21 will also facilitate the reporting of results to the clinic as efficiently as possible, ensuring that Trofile™ is available for patients across the UK and Ireland.

Dr Berwyn Clarke, CSO of Lab21, said: “We are delighted to complete this partnership with Monogram because they are one of the market leaders in HIV clinical diagnostics. We are committed to providing a fully comprehensive service portfolio for HIV patients and the availability of the Trofile™ assay is an important component.”

Dr Jerry Walker, CEO of Lab21, said: “This deal not only shows recognition of the quality of services that Lab21 provides but also reinforces our vision that personalised medicine will become an increasingly important component of clinical practice in the very near future. We have a staff highly experienced in testing for infectious diseases, coupled with highly advanced facilities, and the logistical network to ensure a full testing service can be offered across the UK and Ireland.”