In-Home HIV Test ‘Great’ for Public Health: OraSure CEO
There are major public health benefits to OraSure’s new in-home HIV test, the company’s CEO, Douglas Michels, told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
“There are approximately 1.2 million individuals infected with HIV here in the United States,” Michels said. “It is estimated up to 20 percent of them don't know their status.”
For every one million people that buy OraSure's test, which is the first over-the-counter test to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval, Michels said “it’ll identify at least 5,000 new HIV infections and eliminate more than 700 additional transmissions of HIV.”
The test will be widely available in drug stores and will sell for less than $60, Michels said. It provides results within 20 to 40 minutes
“This is the same test that's been use by physicians for 10 years,” Michels added. “We sold over 25 million devices in public health and hospitals and doctors' offices. Consumers can use it with a high degree of confidence.” But he added a positive test should be confirmed.
