OraSure Technologies Signs Purchase Contract with New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene for OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM) Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Tests

BETHLEHEM, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 27, 2006--OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSUR), the market leader in oral fluid diagnostics, today announced that it has entered into an approximate $6 million, multi-year purchase contract with the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene to expand the use of OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM) Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Tests in the City.

The contract will commence on July 1, 2006, and will extend New York City's aggressive program of HIV prevention, which includes widespread access to voluntary rapid HIV testing and HIV prevention and education initiatives throughout the City. OraSure has already donated 1,000 OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM) tests to the City in honor of National HIV Testing Day, commemorated annually on June 27th. OraSure President and Chief Executive Officer, Douglas A. Michels, and the Assistant Commissioner for Health for the New York City Department of Health, Scott Kellerman, M.D., will announce the new contract at The NASDAQ Market Open Ceremony this morning in New York City.

According to the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, more than 100,000 New Yorkers are living with HIV, but thousands do not know that they are infected. As a result, many infected individuals do not receive the care they need to stay healthy and unknowingly spread HIV in their community.

"We are pleased to expand the availability of our OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM) test in New York City, to help stop the HIV epidemic through increased testing," said Douglas A. Michels, President and Chief Executive Officer of OraSure Technologies. "Making rapid HIV testing widely available has been shown to increase the likelihood that people will get tested and promptly learn their status so that they can receive any necessary treatment and counseling as soon as possible. By ensuring that increased testing is available to in New York as well as other cities, we expect to make significant strides in beating this disease."

Providing results in as little as 20 minutes, OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM) is the only rapid, point-of-care test for the detection of antibodies to both HIV-1 and HIV-2 approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on oral fluid, finger stick or venipuncture whole blood, and plasma specimens. The test is also CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments Act of 1988) waived for all specimen types except plasma. OraSure Technologies commercially launched the OraQuick(R) ADVANCE(TM) test in October 2004.

Now in its 12th year, National HIV Testing Day is an annual event led by the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) to encourage the millions of Americans who are at-risk for HIV to receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as one-third of the estimated one million HIV-infected people in the United States may be unaware that they are infected with the HIV virus - and 55 percent of new transmissions of HIV are derived from individuals who are unaware of their positive status.

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 hospitals, the life insurance industry and public health markets for the detection of HIV. In addition, the Company supplies oral-fluid testing solutions for drugs of abuse testing. For more information on the Company, please go to http://www.orasure.com.

Important Information

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including with respect to product purchases and testing initiatives. Actual results could be significantly different. Factors that could affect results include the ability to market products; impact of competitors, competing products and technology changes; ability to develop, commercialize and market new products; market acceptance of oral fluid testing or other products and changes in market acceptance based on product performance; continued bulk purchases by customers, including governmental agencies, and the ability to fully deploy those purchases in a timely manner; ability to fund research and development and other products and operations; ability to obtain and maintain new or existing product distribution channels; reliance on sole supply sources for critical product components; availability of related products produced by third parties; ability to obtain, and timing of obtaining, necessary regulatory approvals; ability to comply with applicable regulatory requirements; history of losses and ability to achieve sustained profitability; volatility of our stock price; uncertainty relating to patent protection and potential patent infringement claims; uncertainty and costs of litigation relating to patents and other intellectual property; availability of licenses to patents or other technology; ability to enter into international manufacturing agreements; obstacles to international marketing and manufacturing of products; ability to sell products internationally; loss or impairment of sources of capital; ability to meet financial covenants in agreements with financial institutions; ability to retain qualified personnel; exposure to product liability, patent infringement, and other types of litigation; changes in international, federal or state laws and regulations; changes in relationships with strategic partners and reliance on strategic partners for the performance of critical activities under collaborative arrangements; customer consolidations and inventory practices; equipment failures and ability to obtain needed raw materials and components; the impact of terrorist attacks and civil unrest; ability to complete consolidation or restructuring activities; ability to identify, complete and realize the full benefits of potential acquisitions; and general political, business and economic conditions. These and other factors are discussed more fully in the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings of OraSure Technologies, including its registration statements, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and its other filings with the SEC. Although forward-looking statements help to provide complete information about future prospects, readers should keep in mind that forward-looking statements may not be reliable. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and OraSure Technologies undertakes no duty to update these statements.

CONTACT: OraSure Technologies, Inc.
Investor Contact:
Ronald H. Spair, 610-882-1820
Investorinfo@orasure.com
or
Media Contact:
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Erika Freed, 917-359-7974
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SOURCE: OraSure Technologies, Inc.