OraSure Technologies Pledges Support For National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 11 Feb 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSUR), the market leader in oral fluid diagnostics, today announced its support of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (NBHAAD), through the distribution of complimentary OraQuick ADVANCE® Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test kits and educational materials to more than 25 HIV testing sites across the country, including state and city public health departments and community-based organizations.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), even though blacks account for approximately 13% of the U.S. population, they account for about half (49%) of the people who get HIV and AIDS. HIV/AIDS continues to be a leading cause of death among African Americans in the United States according to the CDC.

"OraSure is committed to combating HIV/AIDS in the African American community and we are proud to support National Black HIV AIDS Awareness Day," said Douglas A. Michels, OraSure's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Knowing one's HIV status is a critical first step to getting individuals into care and stemming the spread of the disease and we recognize that our test plays an important role in empowering individuals to know their status."

Committed to working collaboratively with local and national agencies to fight against HIV/AIDS, OraSure is actively supporting over 25 testing and education programs, including programs in New York, Georgia, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands among others, that urge people to learn their HIV status.

The OraQuick ADVANCE® Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test, manufactured and sold by OraSure Technologies, is the first and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") 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 and plasma specimens.

The mission of NBHAAD is to build the capacity and increase awareness, participation and support for HIV prevention, care and treatment among African Americans. The observance is directed, planned and organized by the Strategic Leadership Council, which partners with the CDC to mobilize communities and address specific issues regarding local epidemics and best practices that are science-based and will influence the course of HIV in Black communities across 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 Mexico, Canada, 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.

OraSure Technologies