OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSUR), the market leader in oral fluid diagnostics and the manufacturer of the OraQuick ADVANCE®Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, today issued a statement in support of the recent program announcement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) that it has identified $35 million in additional funding to expand HIV testing and prevention programs. These funds are expected to be allocated to specific state and local jurisdictions by September 30, 2007 for utilization over the ensuing 12 months.
The program announcement, entitled “Expanded and Integrated HIV Testing for Populations Disproportionately Affected by HIV, Primarily African Americans,” specifically calls for proposals from 26 jurisdictions and has a goal of testing an additional 1.5 million persons in the U.S. for HIV and identifying 20,000 HIV-infected persons who are currently unaware of their status. These jurisdictions include selected states, cities and counties that accounted for 95 percent of AIDS cases among blacks in 2005, according to the CDC.
While blacks represent approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population, they account for approximately half of the more than one million Americans currently estimated to be living with HIV, and have represented 40 percent of all deaths among people with AIDS in the U.S. to date, according to the CDC.
In the program announcement, the CDC stated that it expects to award up to 20 cooperative agreements with funding ranging from a minimum award of approximately $510,000 to a maximum award of approximately $6 million. The CDC also stated that the funding is for a three-year project, with funding in the first year of $35 million provided by the CDC from its 2007 budget and all subsequent years of funding will be based on future appropriations. The CDC encouraged applicants to focus at least 80% of their program activities on expanded and innovative HIV testing activities in clinical settings.
The synopsis and full program announcement can be viewed at the following URL: http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=14227.
“We are extremely pleased that the CDC has identified funding to expand HIV testing and prevention initiatives for populations disproportionately affected by HIV, primarily African Americans,” said Douglas A. Michels, President and Chief Executive Officer of OraSure Technologies. “Since OraQuick® was first approved in November 2002, we have been working closely with state and local jurisdictions to develop and launch innovative and expanded testing programs. As the manufacturer of the nation’s leading rapid HIV test, we are committed to continuing our work with both Federal and local agencies to continue to help identify HIV-infected individuals and link them into care.”
OraQuick ADVANCE® is the first and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved and CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments Act of 1988) waived rapid point-of-care test that can detect antibodies to both HIV-1 and HIV-2 in 20 minutes, using oral fluid, finger-stick or venipuncture whole blood or plasma specimens. The CDC and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have effectively deployed over 1 million OraQuick® tests in various public health, drug treatment and outreach settings throughout the country. OraQuick®is also used by hospitals, state departments of health, clinics, community-based organizations, and college/university health centers throughout the country.
About OraSure Technologies
OraSure Technologies develops, manufactures and markets oral fluid specimen collection devices using proprietary oral fluid technologies, diagnostic products including immunoassays and other in vitro diagnostic tests, and other medical devices. These products are sold in the United States as well as internationally to various clinical laboratories, hospitals, clinics, community-based organizations and other public health organizations, distributors, government agencies, physicians' offices, and commercial and industrial entities.
In addition, OraSure sells products for the cryosurgical removal of common and plantar warts in the over-the-counter or retail market in the United States, Canada, Mexico, certain European countries, Australia and New Zealand, and a product for the cryosurgical removal of common and plantar warts and several other benign skin lesions to the professional or physician office market in the United States and many foreign countries. For more information on the Company, please go to http://www.orasure.com.
