In December 2000, SRA was acquired by Virco Lab Inc. SRA had been an independent contract research and development organization providing scientific support to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to accelerate drug development. The company is organized into two complementary units: Drug Development and Laboratory Sciences. The Drug Development division offers strategic planning, project management, regulatory consulting, and outsourcing management for preclinical and clinical development. The Laboratory Sciences division specializes in HIV, HCV, HBV and other infectious diseases. It provides central laboratory support for clinical trials, viral pharmacogenomics (genotyping and phenotyping), virology and molecular biology R&D, and in vitro efficacy and pharmacodynamic studies (in a proprietary hollow fiber model). the firm is a leader in HIV diagnostics and was the first company to provide routine HIV resistance testing in the US. Â Virco is a multinational biotechnology company with operating subsidiaries in the United States, Belgium, The United Kingdom and Ireland. It applies the most advanced technologies in molecular biology, automation, ultra high-throughput screening and electronic data processing to the diagnosis and management of HIV, other infectious diseases and cancer. Virco provides genotyping, phenotyping and the new, unique VirtualPhenotype(TM). The company believes it provides the most sophisticated and comprehensive portfolio of phenotyping and genotyping decision support tools for physicians treating HIV infected patients.Virco sells its testing services via Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp), SRL in Japan, as well as directly to HIV/AIDS centers in Europe, Canada and Australia. Virco has a two-year agreement with Gilead for the promotion of Virco Resistance Monitoring Services to US HIV prescribers by the Gilead sales force.
