Business
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
About this update from Orasure Technologies, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Over Half of the Almost Three Million Americans with Hepatitis C Are Not Aware of Their Disease Status\nBETHLEHEM, 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...