Invirion Diagnostics, LLC Announces Release of Newest Reagent Kit.

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- In connection with the launch of its new website, Invirion Diagnostics, LLC today announced the release of its newest reagent kit: ViroTect HCV In-Cell Detection Kit. This kit is intended for researchers in the health sciences who are studying cells infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The kit is based on the company's proprietary technology for labeling specific viral RNA's inside cells. Since viruses typically live inside cells, Invirion's assays provide a unique and powerful method for studying viral replication in the cells that they infect and for determining if active viral replication is or is not inhibited by the drugs that are used to treat disease caused by the virus.

Hepatitis C (HCV) infection constitutes a universal healthcare problem. Indeed, it is the leading cause of end stage liver disease, a significant risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, and is the leading cause of liver transplant enlistment. In the United States roughly seven million people are chronically infected. Unfortunately, only a fraction of patients respond to the current anti-viral therapy and, perhaps more disturbingly, patients thought to have cleared the virus are frequently found to harbor detectable levels of viral message within a new extrahepatic cellular compartment, the peripheral blood leukocytes.

The Invirion ViroTect HCV assay is intended for use by researchers to detect HCV RNA in cells from individuals infected with HCV or in cell lines infected with HCV. The assay will provide new insights into the pathology of the disease and into the efficacies of the drugs that are being developed to treat hepatitis C.

Invirion also makes kits for the monitoring of HIV replication in cells and the detection of HPV E6, E7 mRNA for cervical cancer screening.

Invirion Diagnostics, LLC is the first theranostics company dedicated to the detection, monitoring and treatment of life-threatening viral diseases such as hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS, cervical cancer, and organ transplant rejection. Invirion was founded in 1999 with the goal of commercializing state-of-the-art molecular virology technology to make a difference in people's lives. Invirion's research, development, and commercialization efforts are focused on monitoring viruses that cause human disease and using the information gleaned from these novel assays to develop therapeutic products that rationally target the viral lifecycle. For more information on the company, its technology and its products, please visit the Invirion's website at www.invirion.com.