Calypte Biomedical Elects Richard Brounstein Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Also Appointed to Board of Directors.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 18, 2001

Calypte Biomedical Corporation (OTCBB:CALY) announced today that Richard Brounstein, who has been assisting the company in its fund raising efforts for the past several months, has been elected executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately. In addition, he has been named to the board of directors, which approved his appointment earlier this month.

Brounstein's 29-year career includes a series of senior management positions of increasing responsibility in finance and operations. He has extensive public company exposure, most recently as CFO of Certicom Corp. (Nasdaq:CERT), as well as 12 years of CFO experience with medical technology companies, including VidaMed, Inc. (Nasdaq:VIDA). He has also held positions at Advanced Micro Devices and Arthur Andersen & Co. Brounstein has had responsibility for the accounting, controller, corporate development, information systems, investor relations, human resources, strategic planning, tax and treasury functions, as well as responsibility for such operational areas as quality, FDA compliance and facilities management.

"We're extremely fortunate to have Rick Brounstein coming on board as our CFO," said Nancy Katz, president and CEO of Calypte. "He brings a breadth of experience and consistent track record that will help Calypte to effectively meet and address the challenges we face and achieve our goals. Our management team will benefit from working closely with Rick as we continue to build for the future.

"This appointment marks the beginning of a new era for Calypte," said Katz, who had also held the title as Calypte's CFO until Brounstein's appointment. "We're in the process of a critical fund raising effort as the company transitions from a development stage to an operating company poised for rapid growth both domestically and overseas. Rick has raised over $150 million in equity at three public companies, including Certicom's NASDAQ IPO, in addition to several private and public equity financings.

"Rick is a seasoned financial executive who is well known to the public markets," said Katz. "We believe that the addition of a CFO with Rick's strong background comes at an ideal time for us. He brings with him a great deal of operations experience, which will be extremely important as we grow the company. I'm delighted to welcome Rick to Calypte's management team."

"I am very excited to be joining Calypte at this stage of their development," said Brounstein. "The company has passion, energy and a good foundation in place to reach its goals. I look forward to bringing my expertise to this great team."

Calypte Biomedical Corporation, headquartered in Alameda, Calif., is a public healthcare company dedicated to the development and commercialization of urine-based diagnostic products and services for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1), sexually transmitted diseases and other infectious diseases. Calypte's tests include the screening EIA and supplemental Western Blot tests, the only two FDA-approved HIV-1 antibody tests that can be used on urine samples. The company believes that accurate, non-invasive urine-based testing methods for HIV and other infectious diseases may make important contributions to public health by helping to foster an environment in which testing may be done safely, economically, and painlessly. Calypte markets its products in countries worldwide through international distributors and strategic partners.

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding future revenues and sales projections, plans for future financing, the ability to meet operational milestones, marketing arrangements and plans, and shipments to and regulatory approvals in international markets. 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, our ability to obtain additional financing that will allow us to continue our current and future operations and whether demand for our product and testing service in domestic and international markets will continue to expand. 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-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and its subsequent filings with the SEC.