Johns Hopkins Hospital Successfully Implements Routine Oral Fluid HIV Screening Program with OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM); OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM) Is Most Used Rapid HIV Test in Hospitals

BETHLEHEM, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2006--OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSUR) today announced that The Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine has implemented an oral fluid HIV screening program in the emergency department of The Johns Hopkins Hospital using the OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM) Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody test. The program, which was initiated in September 2005, recently completed its start-up phase and is becoming fully operational. The Johns Hopkins program, based in Baltimore, Md., is one of the first in the nation to offer oral fluid rapid HIV testing to any patient entering a hospital emergency department for evaluation or treatment. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene provide funding for the Johns Hopkins program.

OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM) 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 test was launched by OraSure Technologies in October 2004 and has since been used by hospitals, state departments of health, clinics, community-based organizations, federal government agencies and college/university health centers throughout the country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2005 Rapid Testing Model Performance Evaluation Program, OraQuick(R) is now the most used rapid HIV test in hospitals.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 55 percent of patients tested in hospital emergency departments with laboratory-based HIV tests in the United States are discharged prior to receiving their test results and only 10 percent of patients referred out to hospital clinics from emergency departments actually undergo testing.

Since the launch of the Johns Hopkins program, more than 50 percent of all patients identified as HIV positive in this program were successfully moved into follow-up care and treatment.

"We are very enthusiastic about the success of the Johns Hopkins program and in particular how this oral fluid rapid testing program will enable those who screen positive for HIV to receive immediate care," said Douglas A. Michels, President and Chief Executive Officer of OraSure Technologies. "A patient's HIV status can dramatically affect diagnosis and treatment. This program will help doctors make more timely and better informed clinical decisions, and will also permit HIV testing and follow-up treatment for individuals whose only contact with the healthcare system is through emergency departments. We look forward to the day when rapid HIV testing is routine in hospitals and other healthcare settings throughout the country. We applaud the Johns Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine for taking a leadership role in this endeavor."

According to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's HIV/AIDS report from 2004, Maryland ranks 9th in the U.S. in reported AIDS cases and more than 50 percent of the state's new HIV cases were residents of Baltimore City at the time of diagnosis. Currently, more than 14,000 persons are currently infected with HIV in Baltimore City.

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.

OraSure Technologies is the leading supplier of oral fluid collection devices and assays to the life insurance industry and public health markets for the detection of antibodies to HIV. In addition, the Company supplies oral fluid testing solutions for drugs of abuse testing. For more information on the Company, please go to www.orasure.com.

CONTACT: OraSure Technologies, Inc.
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Ronald H. Spair, 610-882-1820
Investorinfo@orasure.com
www.orasure.com
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SOURCE: OraSure Technologies, Inc.