Calypte Biomedical Announces Signing of Sublicense Agreement with Abbott Laboratories PLEASANTON, Calif., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Calypte Biomedical Corporation (OTC:CYPT) (BULLETIN BOARD: CYPT) , announced today that it has signed a sublicense agreement with Abbott Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:ABT) for certain worldwide rights to patents relating to the design, manufacture and sale of lateral-flow rapid diagnostic tests. Under the terms of the agreement, Calypte was granted certain worldwide rights to use a family of patents known as the "Guire/Swanson" patents. The technology underlying these patents is fundamental to all lateral-flow rapid diagnostic tests. "We are pleased to have received a license to the Guire/Swanson patents from Abbott," said Dr. Richard George, CEO of Calypte. "The technology covered by these patents is critical to the design of lateral-flow rapid tests. We believe it is one of the essential licenses that will provide us the freedom to manufacture and sell our emerging HIV rapid diagnostic tests in the U.S. and around the world." Included in the major themes of this year's recently completed XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand were the availability of low cost anti-retroviral drugs and the focus on efforts to identify those people infected with HIV more quickly and enroll them in therapy. Calypte plans to offer a menu of tests providing the HIV testing community with the opportunity to choose from a complete line of rapid tests that can be used to test urine, oral fluid, and blood. Initial evaluations of Calypte's rapid tests in Thailand show that all three tests were successfully proven to be safe, efficacious and accurate. All three assays are being moved into manufacturing sequentially. The technology transfer for the blood rapid test to Calypte's Thailand manufacturer is underway, with the objective of completing first pilot production later this third quarter. Current HIV/AIDS Testing A May 2004 report by the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC), based on their own estimates and that of the World Health Organization (WHO), disclosed that less than 10% of infected individuals in the developing world know their HIV status. According to the report, new infections are on the rise, and only 400,000 of the 6 million people in need of antiretroviral therapy have access to these life saving medicines. Testing for HIV serves as an entry point for both prevention and treatment. The objective of treating 3,000,000 people by the end of 2005, the stated goal of the WHO "3 by 5" Initiative, would require that 500,000 people will need to be tested each day. About Calypte Biomedical: Calypte Biomedical Corporation, headquartered in Pleasanton, California, is a public healthcare company dedicated to the development and commercialization of in vitro diagnostic tests, primarily for the detection of antibodies to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and other sexually transmitted and infectious diseases. Calypte's currently marketed laboratory-based tests include an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) HIV-1 antibody screening test and an HIV-1 antibody western blot supplemental test, the only two FDA-approved HIV-1 antibody tests for use on urine samples, as well as an FDA-approved serum HIV-1 antibody western blot supplemental test. Calypte is actively engaged in developing new test products for the rapid detection of HIV and other infectious diseases. Calypte believes that there is a significant need for rapid detection of such diseases globally to control their proliferation, particularly in lesser-developed countries, which lack the medical infrastructure to support laboratory-based testing. Calypte believes that testing for HIV and other infectious diseases may make important contributions to public health. Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management. Such statements reflect management's current views, are based on certain assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events, or performance may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors, and will be dependent upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the Company's ability to obtain additional financing, demand for the Company's products, the Company's success in designing and developing products, the Company's research and development costs, the length of development and product acceptance cycles, the amount that the Company invests in new business opportunities and the timing of those investments, competition, the degree to which the Company enters into commercial agreements and strategic transactions and maintains and develops commercial relationships, foreign exchange risks, world events, international growth and expansion and changes in laws and regulations. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard to these forward-looking statements or the occurrence of unanticipated events. Factors that may impact the Company's success are more fully disclosed in the Company's most recent public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including its annual report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2003 and its subsequent filings with the SEC. Company Contact: Dr. J. Richard George, President and CEO Calypte Biomedical Corporation Telephone: 925-730-7200 Email: Investor Relations Contact: Tim Clemensen Rubenstein Investor Relations Telephone: 212-843-9337 Email: DATASOURCE: Calypte Biomedical Corporation CONTACT: Company - Dr. J. Richard George, President and CEO of Calypte Biomedical Corporation, +1-925-730-7200, ; Investor Relations - Tim Clemensen of Rubenstein Investor Relations, +1-212-843-9337, , for Calypte Biomedical Corporation Web site: http://www.calypte.com/

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