Calypte Aware(TM) BSP Passes Malaysian Government Evaluation LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Oct 11, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Calypte Biomedical Corporation (Amex: HIV) today announced that it has received notification that Aware(TM) BSP, its rapid blood test for HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies, has been successfully evaluated by government agencies in Malaysia.
In Malaysia, favorable government evaluation is generally requested although not strictly required to market HIV tests.
Aware(TM) BSP is a twenty-minute rapid test designed to detect HIV antibodies in whole blood, serum, or plasma. It is one test in a line of three such assays, the other two being designed to detect HIV antibodies in oral fluid and urine. The health authorities in Malaysia have not evaluated non-blood HIV tests in the past, and are determining how such evaluations should be undertaken.
"We're delighted our Aware HIV-1/2 products continue to perform well in clinical evaluations around the world. Now that the Aware BSP test has passed this evaluation, we look forward to working with Belantara Sains Teknologi (BST), our Malaysian distributor, to commercially launch the product," stated Roger Gale, Calypte's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Christine Lim, BST's Chief Operating Officer, added, "The support that we had from Calypte Biomedical prompted us to have these kits evaluated via a recognized body. This has created a higher confidence for our customers who have had some bad experiences from the unevaluated kits which are so vastly available in this eastern part of the world. Now we can look forward to working more closely not only with the Ministry of Health but especially with the health clinics in the remote areas, where a kit as convenient as this is certainly useful, practical and most importantly, reliable."
Malaysia, with a population of roughly 24 million, has an estimated 55,000 HIV infections, according to the CIA Fact book, 2003.
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