Press Releases
Educating African American Women on HPV and Cervical Cancer
By Digene
Apr 5, 2005, 07:37

Digene (Nasdaq: DIGE) welcomed the launch of an educational campaign by The Balm In Gilead, a leading faith-based organization, to help eliminate cervical cancer through human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and other screening technologies. The Balm In Gilead is the latest of several prominent organizations to initiate educational campaigns on cervical cancer and the emerging use of HPV testing as a standard of care for screening women age 30 and older - the group most at risk of the disease.

Digene developed the only FDA-approved test for high-risk types of HPV, the cause of virtually all cases of cervical cancer. The Digene HPV Test, also marketed as the DNAwithPap(TM) Test, is approved for use in conjunction with a Pap test for women age 30 and older. In studies involving more than 40,000 women and published in peer reviewed publications, the combination of the Pap and the Digene HPV Test was found to be significantly more sensitive in identifying women with high-grade cervical disease or cancer than Pap testing alone.

During the past 16 years, The Balm In Gilead - an international, not-for-profit organization - has provided service and education through a network of more than 10,000 African American churches and other faith communities. "Today marks a new paradigm in our organization," said Pernessa Seele, Founder and CEO, The Balm In Gilead, during a press conference held to announce its new ISIS (Intimate Sessions for Informed Sexuality Project.

"Using all of our lessons learned over these years of addressing HIV/AIDS within black communities, The Balm In Gilead is expanding its services to address yet another deadly disease among black women, which is virtually 100 percent preventable: cervical cancer."

Evan Jones, Digene's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, added, "The Balm In Gilead is providing a vital service by reaching out to this large, at-risk population. HPV testing along with the Pap is emerging as the standard of care for cervical cancer screening in women age 30 and older. It is essential that all women have access to the most effective methods for preventing the world's second most-common cancer affecting females."

About Digene
Digene Corporation (Nasdaq: DIGE), based in Gaithersburg, MD, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary DNA and RNA testing systems for the screening, monitoring and diagnosis of human diseases -- with a focus on women's cancers and infectious diseases. The company's hc2 High Risk HPV DNA Test(TM) is the only test for the human papillomavirus approved by the FDA, and is approved for both follow-up evaluation in women with inconclusive Pap results and primary screening in women age 30 and older. For routine screening, it is marketed as both The Digene HPV Test and the DNAwithPap(TM) Test. These brand names do not refer to the Digene product that tests for several types of the virus commonly referred to as "low-risk HPV," which are not associated with cervical cancer. For more information, visit http://www.thehpvtest.com. Digene's product portfolio also includes DNA tests for the detection of other sexually transmitted infections, including chlamydia and gonorrhea, as well as tests for blood viruses. For more information, visit the company's Web site, http://www.digene.com. Investors also may contact Charles Fleischman at 301-944-7000; journalists may contact Pam Rasmussen, 301-944-7196.

The ISIS Project is made possible in part through an unrestricted educational grant from Digene.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the future, as there are a
number of meaningful factors that could cause the company's actual results to vary materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. Meaningful factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations include, but are not limited to, the degree of acceptance of HPV testing by physicians and the extent of reimbursement for the HPV test by third-party payers, as well as other factors discussed in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. For other factors, reference is made to the discussion in the company's annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


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