LABORATORY CORP OF AMERICA HOLDINGS
8-K, 2000-04-04
MEDICAL LABORATORIES
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      UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                   WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                          FORM 8-K

                       CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934
                        MARCH 23, 2000
                     ------------------
              (Date of earliest event reported)


         LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA HOLDINGS
         ------------------------------------------
   (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


   DELAWARE               1-11353              13-3757370
- ---------------         ------------        ---------------
(State or other         (Commission         (IRS Employer
jurisdiction of         File Number)         Identification
incorporation)                                    Number)


   358 SOUTH MAIN STREET, BURLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 27215
   -------------------------------------------------------
          (Address of principal executive offices)

                        336-229-1127
                        ------------
    (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


<PAGE>

ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS

  On  March 23,  2000,  Laboratory Corporation  of  America-
Registered Trademark- Holdings (LabCorp-Registered Trademark-)
announced the signing of an agreement to provide ViroLogic Inc.'s
phenotypic HIV drug susceptibility assay, PhenoSense-Trademark-
HIV, through LabCorp's national laboratory services network.  This
agreement adds PhenoSense-Trademark- HIV to LabCorp's existing
phenotyping and genotyping test menu, further expanding LabCorp's
extensive HIV testing services and offering increased physician
choice.  Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL
        INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS

 (c)  Exhibit
      20  Press release of the Company dated
          March 23, 2000.

<PAGE>
                         SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange
Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to
be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly
authorized.

          LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA HOLDINGS
          ------------------------------------------
                         (Registrant)

               By:/s/ BRADFORD T. SMITH
                  ------------------------------
                      Bradford T. Smith
                      Executive Vice President,
                      General Counsel, Secretary
                      and Compliance Officer



Date: March 29, 2000

<PAGE>


Laboratory Corporation of America-Registered Trademark- Holdings
358 South Main Street
Burlington, NC   27215
Telephone:  336-584-5171

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- ---------------------
Contact:  336-436-4855                  Shareholder Direct: 800-LAB-0401
          Pamela Sherry                                     www.labcorp.com

        LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA-REGISTERED TRADEMARK- ANNOUNCES
    PARTNERSHIP WITH VIROLOGIC INC. TO EXPAND HIV RESISTANCE TESTING SERVICES

Burlington, NC, March  23, 2000 - Laboratory Corporation of
America-Registered Trademark- Holdings (LabCorp-Registered
Trademark-) (NYSE: LH) today announced the signing of an
agreement to provide ViroLogic Inc.'s phenotypic HIV drug
susceptibility assay, PhenoSense-Trademark- HIV, through
LabCorp's national laboratory services network.  This agreement
adds PhenoSense-Trademark- HIV to LabCorp's existing phenotyping
and genotyping test menu, further expanding LabCorp's extensive
HIV testing services and offering increased physician choice.
Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The  FDA's  Antiretroviral Advisory Committee recently  concluded
that resistance tests should be used to help develop new drugs to
combat  HIV. In addition, a panel led by the Department of Health
and  Human Services recently issued guidelines that recommend the
routine  use  of resistance tests for treating HIV patients.  The
use  of  phenotypic  HIV resistance testing in  making  treatment
choices  has  been  shown to significantly  improve  outcomes  of
patients  who  had  failed previous therapy.   As  a  pioneer  in
identifying  and commercializing leading-edge diagnostic  testing
services, LabCorp was the first national laboratory to offer  HIV
viral  load  testing in 1993, and later introduced HIV resistance
testing - each now established as standards of care.

"Less  than  two  years after our exclusive introduction  of  HIV
resistance  testing, we are pleased with the acceptance  of  both
genotypic  and  phenotypic testing, and the support  garnered  by
opinion  leaders, payors, and caregivers alike for this  critical
guidance  system," said Myla P. Lai-Goldman, MD,  executive  vice
president,  chief  scientific officer, and  medical  director  of
LabCorp.  "As new technologies become recognized as standards  of
care,  one of our most important responsibilities as the  leading
provider of specialized infectious disease testing is to  broaden
public  access  to  them.  Therefore,  LabCorp  will  offer   its
customers  the  choice  of ViroLogic's  assay  or  the  currently
offered  phenotypic method for HIV drug resistance.   We  believe
our  new relationship with ViroLogic will enhance patient  access
to this testing and improve turnaround time."

<PAGE>

Laboratory Corporation of America-Registered Trademark-  Holdings
(LabCorp-Registered Trademark-) is a national clinical laboratory
with  annual  revenues  of $1.7 billion  in  1999.   With  18,000
employees and over 100,000 clients nationwide, the company offers
more than 2,000 clinical tests ranging from simple blood analyses
to  sophisticated  molecular diagnostics. LabCorp  leverages  its
expertise  in innovative clinical testing technology  with  three
Centers  of  Excellence.  The Center for  Molecular  Biology  and
Pathology,  in  Research  Triangle Park  (RTP),  North  Carolina,
develops   applications  for  polymerase  chain  reaction   (PCR)
technology.  Its Center for Occupational Testing in  RTP  is  the
world's largest substance abuse testing facility, and the  Center
for  Esoteric Testing in Burlington, North Carolina, performs the
largest  volume  of specialty testing in the network.   LabCorp's
clients include physicians, state and federal government, managed
care   organizations,  hospitals,  clinics,  pharmaceutical   and
Fortune 1000 companies, and other clinical laboratories.

ViroLogic is a biotechnology company developing and marketing
innovative products to guide and improve treatment of viral
diseases.  The Company has developed a practical way of directly
measuring the impact of genetic mutations on drug resistance and
using this information to guide therapy. The Company has a
proprietary technology, called PhenoSense-Trademark-, for testing
drug resistance in viruses that cause serious diseases such as
AIDS, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.  The Company's first product,
PhenoSense HIV, is a test that directly and quantitatively
measures resistance of a patient's HIV to anti-viral drugs.  The
Company is also developing PhenoSense products for other viral
diseases and intends to use the results of its PhenoSense tests
and other clinical data to develop its Therapy Guidance System-
Trademark- (TGS-Trademark-), an interactive database to help
physicians guide patient therapy.

LabCorp  noted that each of the above forward-looking  statements
is   subject  to  change  based  on  various  important  factors,
including   without  limitation,  competitive  actions   in   the
marketplace and adverse actions of governmental and other  third-
party  payors.   Further  information on potential  factors  that
could affect LabCorp's financial results is included in LabCorp's
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.
_______________________________



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