Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - December 13, 2005
Shares of Bethlehem, Pa.-based OraSure fell $1.16, or 9.5 percent, to $11.10 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock's low Tuesday was $11.05, down nearly 18 percent from its close Thursday.
Since the spring, public health clinics in San Francisco have found at least 49 false positive results in patients who used OraSure's oral HIV test, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, and in New York City, clinics also showed an increase in false positives, from 10 in October to 30 in November.
"We certainly have been working with our customers out in San Francisco to understand what has transpired with the very slight uptick in false positives that they have experienced. However, their data continues to be north of 99 percent accuracy on specificity," OraSure Chief Financial Officer Ron Spair told Dow Jones Newswires. He added that the company is also meeting with New York officials to deal with the uptick in false positives there, too.
The product, OraQuick, can be used as a rapid blood or saliva test, but the increase in false positives has all been traced back to the oral tests. OraQuick is currently being considered for approval as an at-home HIV-testing product.
Possibly adding to the decline Tuesday was CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer recommending that investors sell the stock. A couple weeks ago, Cramer spoke bullishly about the company, citing the potential for over-the-counter approval of the OraQuick product from the Food and Drug Administration. Following that show, the stock rose nearly 11 percent.
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