A 20-Year Controversy Catches Fire: Are Over-the-Counter Rapid HIV Tests on the Horizon?
Posted on: Thursday, 6 April 2006, 06:00 CDT
MEDFORD, N.Y., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Like home pregnancy tests and tests for cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, fertility and body fat, a rapid HIV/AIDS test could be coming to a drug store near you.
Larry Siebert, Chief Executive Officer of Chembio Diagnostics, Inc. (http://www.chembio.com/), a New York-based developer and manufacturer of rapid tests for various infectious diseases, not only wants these tests on the market, he wants to make them. Chembio expects to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval shortly for two of its three rapid HIV tests: HIV 1/2 STAT-PAK(TM) and SURE CHECK(R) HIV.
"People often refuse to use HIV/AIDS clinics for fear of discovery, embarrassment, lack of convenience and/or long waiting periods," Siebert says. "At-home testing could greatly benefit this significant demographic."
Those in favor of home AIDS testing have lobbied for over-the-counter tests since the FDA first considered this issue almost 20 years ago. With about 40,000 new HIV transmissions here each year, one million currently living with the disease in this country, and 250,000 unaware they are even harboring the infection, HIV/AIDS still looms large in the United States.
However, the home HIV/AIDS tests are controversial. After two decades of debate, not everyone agrees that HIV/AIDS tests should be sold over the counter. Opponents believe that people taking the tests without professional supervision and see a positive reading may become severely depressed or even suicidal.
Siebert and other diagnostic-testing industry leaders argue that at-home HIV testing would reduce the incidence of late-term identification and the dangers that often result.
President Bush, in this year's State of the Union address, announced his support for the allocation of $90 million for purchasing and distributing three million rapid HIV/AIDS tests, especially in inner cities and other high- risk areas. Advocates also celebrated another notable victory on March 10, when the FDA's Blood Products Advisory Committee unanimously recommended guidelines permitting the FDA to approve the over-the-counter distribution of rapid HIV tests.
For more information on this ongoing debate, visit http://www.chembio.com/ and http://www.clintonfoundation.org/.
Chembio Diagnostics, Inc.
CONTACT: Judy Katz, VP, PR, The Investor Relations Group,+1-212-825-3210, for Chembio Diagnostics, Inc.
Web site: http://www.chembio.com/http://www.clintonfoundation.org/
Source: PRNewswire
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