OraSure and the Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation to Heighten Awareness Around the Importance of Hepatitis C Testing
Over Half of the Almost Three Million Americans with Hepatitis C Are Not Aware of Their Disease Status
BETHLEHEM, Pa. and HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., June 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OraSure Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSUR) announced today that it is collaborating with the Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation to increase awareness around the role Hepatitis C (HCV) plays in chronic liver disease and promoting testing services for HCV within the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that approximately 2.4 million individuals in the United States have HCV, and over half of these individuals currently don’t know their disease status. Left untreated, HCV often leads to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure. These outcomes are preventable given new antiviral drugs that can effectively cure patients, but early diagnosis through increased testing is vital to eradicating this disease. According to data from the National Institutes of Health, healthcare costs associated with chronic HCV infection are $6.5 billion per year in the United States today and continue to rise, representing a substantial burden on our healthcare system.
"As a liver disease patient who endured Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis as a child, and through friends affected by HCV, I know the toll liver disease can have on your body, especially if it's left untreated,” Will Rodgers, NASCAR driver, said. “This terrible disease, which affects so many in the United States, is a significant strain on our healthcare system, and could be eradicated through broad scale testing initiatives. “I’m very proud to work with OraSure to drive increased awareness around HCV and provide testing services to underserved communities across the country.”
“At OraSure, we take public health seriously and have played a significant role in combating diseases such as HCV, HIV, and COVID-19 on a global basis. Our OraQuick® HCV rapid antibody test is designed to be extremely simple to use, highly accurate and provides a result within 20 minutes, while simultaneously being cost effective,” said OraSure President and CEO Stephen Tang, Ph.D. “As a company, we are extremely proud to collaborate with the Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation to drive greater awareness around the importance of individuals knowing their HCV status. A simple test can save a life.”
As a 3-year-old child, Rodgers was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, an extremely rare, chronic liver disease. While the disease has no present cure, his disease abated after two years of treatment, to the delight of his physicians and family. Following the end of his treatments, Rodgers’ racing journey began to take shape.
As a first generation race car driver, Rodgers was introduced to go-kart racing at the age of eight and within 18 months was the reigning Hawai’i state champion and track record holder in Maui. From there, Rodgers became a regional champion in motocross, a stadium series champion in off-road UTVS and a 2015 West Coast NASA champion in sports car racing. In 2016, Rodgers became the winningest driver in the Pirelli World Challenge Pro B Spec class. These personal achievements paved the way for his current career in NASCAR, where he has gone on to become a winner in both the ARCA Menards Series East (2017-2018) and the ARCA Menards Series West (2018).
Inspired by Will Rodgers personal endurance with liver disease, the Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation was formed in 2020 to fill gaps for those affected with liver health issues by providing education, testing resources, and a link to care. The Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation’s vision is to build awareness and provide education of liver disease, remove any barriers for treatment of liver diseases from targeted demographics, provide link-to-care in targeted communities, and eliminate the negative stigma surrounding liver disease.
The foundation’s effort, driven by Rodgers, is culminating into his overall vision — a brand new philanthropic campaign to raise awareness for HCV — RaceToEndHepC.com.
“A major element of the Race To End Hep C initiative is the at-track and in-community activation space. It’s important to reach the communities affected by HCV, in person, to communicate the importance of education, testing and treatment. Together, with our supporting partners, we’ll be providing a step-by-step process for any individuals wanting to learn more about HCV and how we’re Racing to End it.”
The Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation will provide an interactive environment at race events and select community locations to encourage liver health. Through his collaboration with OraSure, individuals will be provided with free HCV testing, which allows you to receive your results in minutes with a simple finger prick, educational materials and resources to take the next step for those with liver health needs.
To find a community event near you, visit www.RaceToEndHepC.com.
About HCV and the OraQuick® HCV Rapid Antigen Test
According to the CDC, HCV is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the United States, with approximately 2.4 million people infected. It is estimated that one in 30 Baby Boomers (adults born between 1945 and 1965) have chronic Hepatitis C and over half of the people infected with HCV in the United States are unaware of their infection. The CDC, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) have all issued guidance that recommends HCV testing for at-risk individuals including all Baby Boomers.
OraQuick® HCV is the first and only FDA-approved and CLIA-waived point of care test for detection of HCV infection in at-risk individuals. The simple platform enables healthcare providers to deliver a diagnosis based on lab-accurate test results in 20 minutes, using venipuncture or fingerstick blood.
About the Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation
By uniting the healthcare industry, the Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation (WRLHF) seeks to build awareness and provide education on liver disease, remove any barriers for treatment of liver diseases for targeted demographics, provide link-to-care in targeted communities, and eliminate negative stigma surrounding liver disease. The WRLHF fills a need for a national, far-reaching campaign, coupled with a true ambassador for liver health. The foundation focuses on consumable education for the public, provides on-site & in-the-field testing and links patients with proper care. Additionally, the WRLHF stands to change the public’s negative perception of liver disease and has a goal to positively change the conversation. For more information on the Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation, visit www.liverhealth.foundation.
About OraSure Technologies
OraSure Technologies empowers the global community to improve health and wellness by providing access to accurate, essential information. OraSure, together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, DNA Genotek, Diversigen, and Novosanis, provides its customers with end-to-end solutions that encompass tools, services and diagnostics. The OraSure family of companies is a leader in the development, manufacture, and distribution of rapid diagnostic tests, sample collection and stabilization devices, and molecular services solutions designed to discover and detect critical medical conditions. OraSure’s portfolio of products is sold globally to clinical laboratories, hospitals, physician’s offices, clinics, public health and community-based organizations, research institutions, government agencies, pharma, commercial entities and direct to consumers. For more information on OraSure Technologies, please visit www.orasure.com.
Important Information
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including with respect to expected revenues, products, product development activities, regulatory submissions and authorizations and other matters. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results. Known and unknown factors that could cause actual performance or results to be materially different from those expressed or implied in these statements include, but are not limited to: ability to successfully manage and integrate acquisitions of other companies in a manner that complements or leverages our existing business, or otherwise expands or enhances our portfolio of products and our end-to-end service offerings, and the diversion of management’s attention from our ongoing business and regular business responsibilities to effect such integration; the expected economic benefits of acquisitions (and increased returns for our stockholders), including that the anticipated synergies, revenue enhancement strategies and other benefits from the acquisitions may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected and our actual integration costs may exceed our estimates; impact of increased or different risks arising from the acquisition of companies located in foreign countries; ability to market and sell products, whether through our internal, direct sales force or third parties; impact of significant customer concentration in the genomics business; failure of distributors or other customers to meet purchase forecasts, historic purchase levels or minimum purchase requirements for our products; ability to manufacture products in accordance with applicable specifications, performance standards and quality requirements; ability to obtain, and timing and cost of obtaining, necessary regulatory approvals for new products or new indications or applications for existing products; ability to comply with applicable regulatory requirements; ability to effectively resolve warning letters, audit observations and other findings or comments from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) or other regulators; the impact of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic on our business and our ability to successfully develop new products, validate the expanded use of existing collector products, receive necessary regulatory approvals and authorizations and commercialize such products for COVID-19 testing; changes in relationships, including disputes or disagreements, with strategic partners or other parties and reliance on strategic partners for the performance of critical activities under collaborative arrangements; ability to meet increased demand for the Company’s products; impact of replacing distributors; inventory levels at distributors and other customers; ability of the Company to achieve its financial and strategic objectives and continue to increase its revenues, including the ability to expand international sales; ability to identify, complete, integrate and realize the full benefits of future acquisitions; impact of competitors, competing products and technology changes; reduction or deferral of public funding available to customers; competition from new or better technology or lower cost products; ability to develop, commercialize and market new products; market acceptance of oral fluid or urine testing, collection or other products; market acceptance and uptake of microbiome informatics, microbial genetics technology and related analytics services; 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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, including the impact of changes in international funding sources and testing algorithms; adverse movements in foreign currency exchange rates; loss or impairment of sources of capital; ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; exposure to product liability and other types of litigation; changes in international, federal or state laws and regulations; customer consolidations and inventory practices; equipment failures and ability to obtain needed raw materials and components; the impact of terrorist attacks and civil unrest; and general political, business and economic conditions. These and other factors that could affect our results are discussed more fully in our SEC filings, including our registration statements, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings with the SEC. Although forward-looking statements help to provide information about future prospects, readers should keep in mind that forward-looking statements may not be reliable. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and OraSure Technologies undertakes no duty to update these statements.
| Media Contact: | Investor Contact: | |
| Jessica O’Brien | Scott Gleason | |
| 803-240-5807 | SVP Investor Relations & Corp. Comms. | |
| jessica@truexmanagementgroup.com | 484-425-0588 | |
| sgleason@orasure.com | ||
| Will Rodgers Liver Health Foundation Contact: | Media Contact: | |
| Karleen Margenean | Amy Koch | |
| 586-839-7417 | Sr. Mgr. Corporate Communications | |
| 484-523-1815 | ||
| media@orasure.com |
