(BW) Twenty Insurance Companies Now Using HIV-1 Urine Test System An Additional 14 Life Insurance Companies Have Begun Using Urine HIV Test System Since August

(BW) Twenty Insurance Companies Now Using HIV-1 Urine Test System An Additional 14 Life Insurance Companies Have Begun Using Urine HIV Test System Since August

Business Wire - Thursday October 8, 1998

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 1998--Calypte Biomedical Corporation (NASDAQ:CALY - news) announced today that a total of 20 leading U.S. life insurance companies have begun applicant assessment using Calypte's complete Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) urine test system. Calypte executives said they expect that several additional insurance companies will begin using the urine test system by the end of the year. In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the urine HIV-1 Western blot test. The screening test had been approved previously by the FDA. Some of the many reasons insurance companies are adapting the urine test system include:

--Highly accurate results, but lower overall costs than either blood or oral fluid;

--Companies will be able to use urine to test for several risk factors other than HIV infection, including tobacco use, drugs of abuse and many other health-related markers;

--Urine testing does not require a trained health care worker/phlebotomist to collect samples, allowing for agent collection, thus reducing costs and speeding approval times;

--The volume of the urine sample required for a full HIV-1 testing algorithm is less than 2 ml. Laboratories therefore rarely receive samples of inadequate volume, thus avoiding the cost and expense of collecting repeat samples;

--The urine HIV-1 Western blot produces a lower frequency of indeterminate results than any other licensed HIV-1 Western blot;

--Collection devices (urine cups and tubes) are extremely inexpensive, durable and do not have an expiration date;

--Greater consumer acceptance of urine testing over blood testing due to the non-invasive nature of the urine option; and

The urine of HIV-infected people is highly unlikely to contain infectious HIV-1, and urine testing eliminates accidental needle sticks and other exposure-related dangers associated with blood-borne pathogens, thus protecting both applicants and those collecting the samples.

The urine test system consists of the HIV-1 enzyme immunoassay (EIA) antibody screening test and the HIV-1 urine Western blot confirmatory test, which detects the presence of antibodies to HIV-1 in urine samples. Clinical studies have shown the urine diagnostic test system to be a highly accurate alternative to blood testing.

"The insurance industry is a very important sector to Calypte. We're extremely pleased with how many of these companies have begun using the urine test both in cases where they weren't testing for HIV at all and in place of blood and/or oral tests," stated Bill Boeger, president and CEO of Calpyte Biomedical.

Calypte Grows Sales Force

In addition to having hired Kip Whitefield in August -- a 33-year insurance industry veteran -- to manage both the sales and customer relations efforts for the insurance sector, Calypte will bring Sheila Borland on board October 17 to maximize sales opportunities in the insurance industry. She will work with Whitefield as a national account executive with insurance company home office responsibilities in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Southwest and Midwest areas. Borland most recently served for four years as a national account executive for Osborn Laboratories, one of the country's largest insurance testing laboratories. Prior to that, Borland worked for eight years with ASB Meditest, a national insurance paramedical organization.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding market adoption of the HIV-1 urine testing system. Actual results may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors, and will be independent upon the company's ability, directly or through third parties, to successfully manufacture and market the HIV-1 urine testing system. Factors which may impact the company's success are more fully discussed in the company's most recent quarterly report on forms 10-Q and 10-K.

For more information on how to purchase or evaluate the product, call Dick Van Maanen of Calypte at 510-749-5100.

Visit Calypte on the World Wide Web at www.Calypte.com

Contact:

Calypte Biomedical Bill Boeger, John Dipietro 510/749-5100 or Healy Communications Jason Sherman, David Schulte 312/440-3900
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