GOOD NEWS FOR CLINTON FANS...
OraSure Technologies Announces Phase II Funding for Syphilis Project;
NIH Approves Nearly $1 Million in Added Funding for Oral Fluid
Syphilis Test
Beaverton, Ore.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 8, 2000--OraSure
Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:OSUR), the market leader for oral fluid
diagnostics of infectious disease and drugs-of-abuse, today announced
that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has approved a grant of
nearly $1 million to fund Phase II of the Company's project to develop
a test for syphilis using either blood or oral fluid samples.
This "fast-track" grant came after OraSure Technologies reached
specific milestones set in Phase I, which was funded with
approximately $118,000 from the NIH in September 1999. OraSure
Technologies has until August 31, 2001, to complete the milestones
necessary to collect the Phase II funds.
OraSure Technologies' syphilis project is focused on the
development of tests for syphilis that will both screen and confirm
the result using an oral fluid sample from an OraSure(R) oral specimen
collection device. The tests will be performed in a laboratory using
the same procedures that are used with OraSure HIV samples.
"By developing new tests across our three platform technologies -
OraSure(R), OraQuick(R) and UPlink(TM), we can maximize the market
coverage we achieve from projects like this syphilis research," said
Robert D. Thompson, chief executive officer of OraSure Technologies.
"The ultimate users of our products will range from lab-based testing
for clinics to street corner outreach testing, and will be offered as
part of a panel of tests or on a stand-alone basis."
The syphilis project represents another extension of the Company's
laboratory based oral fluid technology platform into expanded
diagnostics applications. OraSure is currently used for detection of
HIV-1 antibodies, drugs-of-abuse and cotinine (for smoking). OraSure
Technologies is also working outside the scope of this grant to expand
this technology to include tests for hepatitis and markers for
diabetes.
In addition to laboratory-based testing using an oral fluid
sample, OraSure Technologies intends to expand syphilis testing to the
point-of-care testing markets in the future. This includes the
OraQuick rapid test, which can use either an oral fluid or a
blood-based sample to produce results in about 20 minutes.
OraSure Technologies also intends to add the syphilis test to its
future UPlink product development plans. Along with other tests on the
same sample, this product will provide a multiple test format for
public health testing. The UPlink product line utilizes the Company's
patented UPT (Up-converting Phosphor Technology) in a point-of-care
machine-readable format that can use an oral fluid or other type of
sample to provide laboratory levels of accuracy in less than 10
minutes.
It is estimated that approximately 36 million syphilis tests are
performed each year in the United States. That number is expected to
increase due to the CDC's (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
program for the elimination of syphilis initiated in October 1999.
This multi-year program requires an increased testing effort in order
to identify new cases of syphilis and begin treatment before
transmission can occur. The Company also expects to distribute the
syphilis tests to international markets.
Although the incidence of syphilis in the U.S. is at an all-time
low, there are geographic pockets of outbreaks that pose a significant
public health problem and have the potential to spread. There were 12
million new cases of syphilis among adults worldwide during 1995,
according to the World Health Organization. |
