PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calypte Biomedical Corporation (OTCBB: CBMC), a manufacturer of medical diagnostic tests for the rapid detection of antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), announced today that its Aware® HIV-1/2 OMT oral fluid rapid test has been approved by the U.S. Agency for International Development (“USAID”). The Aware® product has been placed on the USAID rapid HIV test waiver list, which under the U.S. Acquisition & Assistance Policy Directive (AAPD 05-01) permits use of the Aware® test in USAID-funded projects. The inclusion now permits countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Uganda, where the Company’s HIV Test is approved, to purchase Aware® using funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (“PEPFAR”), which was first announced in 2003 and subsequently reaffirmed and increased this past January when President George W. Bush asked Congress to commit $15 billion over the next five years, including nearly $10 billion in new money, to combat AIDS. PEPFAR is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease.
