Chembio Announces Oral Presentation at 2012 HIV Diagnostics Conference

Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., a leader in point-of-care diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, announces that an oral presentation and multiple poster presentations underscoring the clinical utility of the Company's Dual Path Platform(R) rapid, point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests were presented at the 2012 HIV Diagnostics Conference held on December 12-14 at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel.

An oral presentation entitled "Performance Evaluation of the DPP(R) HIV-SYPHILIS Assay: a novel, point-of-care rapid HIV 1/2, and Syphilis Treponema pallidum Antibody Combination Test" was delivered by Javan Esfandiari, Senior Vice President of Research and Development for Chembio. The presentation was made in conjunction with the "Testing for HIV/Hepatitis or HIV/Syphilis Co-infections" workshop moderated by Kelly Wroblewski, Association of Public Health Laboratories.

In his presentation on Wednesday, Mr. Esfandiari showcased the Company's DPP(R) HIV-SYPHILIS, a single-use immunochromatographic, rapid screening test for the detection of antibodies to HIV 1/2 and Syphilis Treponema pallidum in fingerstick whole blood, venous whole blood, serum or plasma. Data have shown the test to have accurate results with documented sensitivity and specificity for both HIV 1/2 and Syphilis antibodies on one device.

Mr. Esfandiari noted, "In the U.S., approximately 16% of patients, as well as 28% of men, who are infected with syphilis are also co-infected with HIV. As a result, there is growing interest in an accurate, rapid POC test that can diagnose both HIV and syphilis antibodies. Moreover, syphilis facilitates HIV transmission, making an early and accurate syphilis diagnosis key to preventing continued transmission of both diseases. DPP(R) HIV-SYPHILIS requires minimal patient sample and provides actionable results in 20 minutes, allowing for results and counseling at the point-of-care. Based on the market need and the strength of these data, we intend to work with the regulatory authorities to establish a pathway to approval for this much-needed diagnostic."

"We are delighted to have this solid body of clinical data presented at the 2012 HIV Diagnostics Conference including the outstanding performance of our HIV 1/2 test that is pending approval ," stated Lawrence Siebert, Chembio's Chief Executive Officer. "These data confirm the high sensitivity and specificity of our DPP(R) rapid assays in patients with HIV and HIV-related infectious diseases. The simultaneous detection of multiple antibodies offers the opportunity to increase diagnosis of and treatment for these highly infectious diseases, which is hoped to reduce their transmission. As a result, there continues to be a substantial interest in these products by public health groups in the U.S. and abroad."