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Strategies & Market Trends : Anthony @ Equity Investigations, Dear Anthony, -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rupers who wrote (58839)	8/25/2000 8:30:36 PM
From: rupers	Respond to of 122087

CALY & Likely SDA Approval: No conflict of interest, right. Here's the extract from a Business Wire report that shows one of the co-patent holders also works for the advisory agency to the SDA. Dr Cao is a co-patent holder and helped develop CALY's urine enzyme immunoassay. He is also Deputy Director for NCAIDs. NCAIDS is a national research center run by the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine (CAPM), which is under the leadership of the Chinese National Ministry of Health. I'll give CALY credit on this one, I think they greased the Chinese wheels pretty well. BUSINESS WIRE: CALYPTE APPOINTS DISTRIBUTOR FOR ITS HIV-1 URINE TEST IN PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 99% match; Business Wire ; 12-Jun-2000 12:00:00 am ; 680 words ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 2000-- 500,000 Chinese infected with HIV/AIDS - easier testing could be a key in slowing rate Calypte Biomedical Corporation (NASDAQ: CALY) today announced it has partnered with the Chinese National Center for AIDS Prevention and Control (NCAIDS) through Beijing HuaAi Science and Technology Development Co. Ltd. to distribute the first HIV-1 antibody urine test within the People's Republic of China. NCAIDS is a national research center run by the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine (CAPM), which is under the leadership of the Chinese National Ministry of Health. NCAIDS and CAPM have guaranteed the terms of the contract on behalf of Beijing HuaAi. Once approved by the State Drug Administration of China (SDA), Calypte's test will be the only urine-based HIV-1 test distributed within the People's Republic of China. Calypte's application has been submitted to the SDA and is currently in process, with approval expected by the end of 2000. According to NCAIDS, approximately half a million people in China are infected with HIV/AIDS and the total number of HIV infections in China could rise as high as 10 million before 2010 unless effective countermeasures are taken. Among the groups at highest risk are commercial sex workers and intravenous drug users, who are estimated to number eight and ten million people, respectively. A crucial first step to stemming the deadly spread of HIV is testing and education. "We expect the Calypte urine test will be a significant benefit in our efforts to control HIV in China," says Yunzhen Cao, MD, Deputy Director of NCAIDS, Director of the Department of Clinical Virology. "Experience has shown us that it is not easy to collect blood samples from drug users. Moreover, urine testing is much safer for our nurses and social workers than blood testing." Dr. Cao helped develop Calypte's HIV-1 urine enzyme immunoassay test and is a co-holder of the patent along with Alvin Friedman-Kien, MD. They were the first to report the detection of antibodies to HIV in urine. "We've found that recent detection efforts in China using traditional HIV blood tests have been hindered by the unwillingness of roughly 30 percent of people to have their blood drawn," says Xiwen Zheng, MD, Executive Deputy Director of NCAIDS. "Calypte's HIV urine test will help eliminate safety concerns or cultural issues involved in providing blood samples because urine testing is non-invasive and urine is not infectious for HIV." "HIV infections are a global health threat and will require significant effort, resources and creativity to control," said Nancy Katz, President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Calypte. "Calypte is excited to have the opportunity to partner with HuaAi and provide China with a safer, easier alternative to blood testing that will hopefully remove some of the barriers to HIV testing. An important first step to fighting this danger to society is for people to learn their HIV status so they can take appropriate action."