Virco Group

Virco was a Belgian biotechnology company that pioneered the field of HIV resistance testing and personalized medicine. The company is best known for developing the Antivirogram, a phenotypic assay that measured the susceptibility of a patient's specific HIV strain to various antiretroviral drugs. By integrating phenotypic results with genotypic data and advanced bioinformatics, Virco provided clinicians with a 'Virtual Phenotype' to optimize treatment regimens for HIV patients. This approach was particularly critical for managing treatment-experienced patients with multi-drug resistant viruses. In 2002, Virco and its partner Tibotec were acquired by Johnson & Johnson, eventually becoming a core part of the Janssen pharmaceutical division's infectious disease portfolio.