March 17, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

OraSure and Altai Capital, which is seeking seats on the Bethlehem-based company’s board of directors, are trading bad words again.

OraSure responded late this afternoon to an Altai Capital letter that said the company suffers from “chronic underperformance,” which is hard to deny. It’s been a dud for a long time. Altai said it owns about 5% of OraSure.

Altai said OraSure has been burning cash, that Chief Executive Carrie Eglinton Manner has made about $15 million while investors have lost 60% of their investment, and that the company must consider a sale.

Orasure, a maker of medical diagnostic kits, responded in a statement today that Rishi Bajaj, Altai’s president, “has been unfocused and vague with regards to his suggested actions to generate shareholder value and justify his demand for appointment to the Board. Still, OraSure has consistently remained open and available to hearing and considering ideas from Altai.”

OraSure promises great things but has not delivered in years, as it loses money and sees big revenue declines. The stock has been a laggard since the COVID-19 pandemic, when a surge of federal money boosted the company.

The shares (NASDAQ:OSUR) were back under $3 today, closing at $2.98, a drop of 15 cents. The 52-week high is $4.22.

OraSure’s statement says Bajaj “is pursuing a campaign that centers on his demand for a Board appointment to compel OraSure to sell itself just as the Company is at an important inflection point with a series of regulatory and commercial milestones ahead in 2026.”

I’m not sure what the inflection point is. Maybe there is hope for OraSure’s promised new products. Maybe it’s the same bluster and jargon.

OraSure loves jargon. Some examples from today’s release:

— inflection point

— singularly focused (not just focused, but singularly so)

— focused strategy (better than an unfocused one)

— significant value upside

— long-term value creation

— position the business for revenue acceleration (not just higher revenue, but revenue acceleration, which is … what?)

— innovation roadmap (no OraSure statement is complete without this one)

Sadly, there was nothing about OraSure’s three pillars strategy. Maybe they’ve given up on that one.

I point out the jargon because it can betray pointless bluster. I’m not in a position to judge OraSure’s prospects, but it could at least speak in plain English. Jargon is a distraction and deflection, it’s not trustworthy.

I’d like to see this little ($206 million market capitalization) company thrive. It’s the kind of thing south Bethlehem needs, and OraSure has its “factory of the future” in Bethlehem Township.

Instead, is has been doing is destroying investor wealth, not building it. It has been cutting jobs and costs, probably a necessary move, and bringing some work back to the Lehigh Valley, which is good.

Still, jargon isn’t going to get it done, and nobody falls for it.

As for Altai Capital, OraSure said it did propose putting John Bertrand on the board, a nominee proposed by Altai. Just not Bajaj.

We will see what comes of it all, whether there’s a proxy battle or an agreement in advance of OraSure’s annual meeting.

OraSure makes home diagnostic kits for HIV and COVID, and is venturing into tests for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

OraSure was founded as SolarCare, a small company that made sunscreen towelettes. It now makes the InteliSwab test for COVID, and OraQuick for HIV, among other products.

Here’s a cut-and-paste version of the OraSure statement, and below it, the Altai letter:

OraSure Highlights Significant Operational Progress and Value Creation Initiatives Following Letter from Altai Capital

March 17, 2026 at 4:53 PM EDT

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Company Has Demonstrated Momentum on Transformation Strategy with Significant Regulatory and Commercial Milestones Approaching in 2026

Highlights Extensive Engagement with Altai

Altai Has Rejected All Settlement Proposals and Is Singularly Focused on Securing Board Representation for Its Founder to Force an Ill-Timed Sale Process

BETHLEHEM, Pa., March 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OraSure Technologies, Inc. (“OraSure” and the “Company”) (NASDAQ: OSUR), a leader in point-of-need and home diagnostic tests and sample management solutions, today issued the following statement in response to Altai Capital’s March 17, 2026, letter:

OraSure’s Board and management team are steadfast in our commitment to driving value and acting in the best interests of all shareholders through disciplined execution and rigorous oversight. Rishi Bajaj, Altai’s founder and principal, is pursuing a campaign that centers on his demand for a Board appointment to compel OraSure to sell itself just as the Company is at an important inflection point with a series of regulatory and commercial milestones ahead in 2026. We cannot ask our shareholders to forego significant value upside to appease Mr. Bajaj, who is seeking to derail the Company’s strategy in the middle of its execution and is unwilling to pursue a constructive resolution to his proxy contest.

OraSure continues to successfully execute a focused strategy designed to improve operating performance, strengthen margins, and position the business for revenue acceleration and long-term value creation by:

• • Driving a Strategy for Growth in 2026. Building on the strategic progress made throughout 2025, OraSure is positioned to return to revenue growth in 2026 as our core end-markets stabilize and clinical adoption of precision medicine strengthens. We expect this growth inflection to be further accelerated by the anticipated commercial launch and scale-up of high-impact products including the Sherlock™ rapid molecular self-test for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (CT/NG) and the Colli-Pee^® at-home urine collection device for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which target a combined $2 billion addressable market.
    
  • Advancing Our Innovation Roadmap. OraSure is focused on high-growth opportunities and their anticipated paths to commercialization and revenue realization. At the end of 2025, OraSure submitted two separate product applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clearance of our rapid molecular self-test for CT/NG as well as Colli-Pee™. These milestones position OraSure for regulatory decisions, product launches and commercialization ramp-up, revenue growth, and profitability improvement in 2026.
    
  • Reducing Costs and Structurally Improving Margins Through Decisive Operational Actions. Since late 2022, OraSure has transformed our operational profile to position the Company to convert our manufacturing scale into long-term shareholder value and become a high-margin diagnostic leader. We have reduced our global workforce by approximately 40%, closed four global sites, consolidated production into our Pennsylvania footprint, in-sourced manufacturing, and wound down two declining product lines. These actions have reduced annual SG&A expense (excluding R&D) by 37% since 2022 and contributed to ~260 basis points of adjusted gross margin expansion over the past three years, with a credible path toward 50% gross margin as scale and product mix improve.
• • Executing a Balanced and Disciplined Capital Allocation Strategy. OraSure’s capital allocation prioritizes high-ROI growth while maintaining a debt-free balance sheet and returning capital to shareholders. This includes a $40 million share repurchase program, signaling confidence in the Company’s earnings potential and improving free cash flow profile. With a robust cash position, OraSure maintains significant optionality to pursue disciplined acquisitions and strategic partnerships that enhance our portfolio while continuing to invest in R&D targeting high-value growth markets.
    
  • Demonstrating Conviction in Value Creation Strategy and Alignment. Our leadership team has reiterated its belief in the potential ahead for OraSure and our transformation strategy. In 2025, CEO Carrie Eglinton Manner and CFO Kenneth McGrath made significant open-market purchases of OraSure stock. These personal investments are continuing in 2026 under Rule 10b5-1 plans, underscoring their confidence in the Company’s upcoming 2026 product launches and strategic roadmap.

The Right Board to Oversee the Next Phase of Value Creation
Over the last six years, OraSure’s entire Board has been refreshed. We have added three new, highly qualified, independent directors since 2023 with relevant industry expertise, including accomplished healthcare investor and shareholder advocate Steven K. Boyd in October 2025. The Board appointed John P. Kenny, who has served as a director since September 2024, as its Chair in October 2025. Our Board also benefits from the deep financial and operational experience of Robert W. McMahon, CFO of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., who joined the Board in July 2023. Today, OraSure maintains a strong, independent, and fully engaged Board that is fit-for-purpose with directors who have extensive backgrounds in healthcare and diagnostics along with capital markets and investor perspectives plus executive-level experience to provide rigorous oversight as management positions the Company to return to growth.

Extensive Engagement with Altai Capital
OraSure’s Board has been routinely engaging with Altai for over a year and working diligently to reach a constructive resolution to Altai’s demands. Throughout our engagement, Mr. Bajaj has been unfocused and vague with regards to his suggested actions to generate shareholder value and justify his demand for appointment to the Board. Still, OraSure has consistently remained open and available to hearing and considering ideas from Altai.

The Company has proposed, through multiple settlement offers, constructive solutions to reach a compromise and avoid a proxy contest. The Company’s most recent settlement proposals have included:

• • Commitment to Appoint Altai’s Director Nominee, Mr. Bertrand: Following Altai’s nominations of Mr. Bajaj and John Bertrand, whom Altai originally presented to the Company as an independent director candidate, the Board undertook a thorough evaluation of both candidates as well as other independent candidates who were sourced through the Company’s nationally recognized director recruiting firm. Following that process and Altai’s insistence that no settlement could be reached without appointing an Altai nominee, OraSure ultimately proposed to appoint Mr. Bertrand to the Board ahead of the Annual Meeting on the basis that he would be a fully independent director.
    
  • Consulting and Information-Sharing Agreement: When the Company declined to seat Mr. Bajaj on the Board but offered to accept Mr. Bertrand instead, Mr. Bajaj countered with an uncompromising demand to receive access to virtually all Board-level materials, either directly from the Company or through Mr. Bertrand as an Altai representative on the Board. The Board proposed several compromise solutions, including a detailed consulting and information-sharing framework, subject to confidentiality provisions and a commitment that Mr. Bertrand serve as a fully independent director. Mr. Bajaj refused all of these offers, insisting that if Mr. Bertrand were to serve on the Board, he would act as Altai’s conduit for nearly unfettered access to all Board information.
    
  • Commitment to Declassify the Board: OraSure’s Board is committed to seeking shareholder approval for a charter amendment to declassify the Board beginning in 2027 at the Annual Meeting. OraSure’s Board intends to put forth a proposal to declassify the Board at the Annual Meeting regardless of the outcome of negotiations with Altai.

OraSure will continue to take action that it believes protects the best interests of the Company and all our shareholders.

Evercore is serving as financial advisor, Goodwin Procter LLP is serving as legal advisor, and Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher is serving as strategic communications advisor to OraSure.

*******************

Now, Altai’s turn, an SEC filing via OraSure’s website:

Altai Capital Management Issues Letter to OraSure Board Outlining Five-Pillar Case for Change in Response to Significant and Continued Underperformance

Calls on Company to Reach a Fair Settlement that Appoints Altai Nominees Rishi Bajaj and John Bertrand to the Board

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 17, 2026 — Altai Capital Management, L.P. (“Altai”), one of the largest shareholders and the beneficial owners of approximately 5% of the outstanding common stock of OraSure Technologies, Inc. (“OraSure” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: OSUR), today announced that it has delivered a letter to the OraSure Board of Directors (the “Board”) outlining a five-pillar case for why change is necessary to preserve and deliver value for its investors.

In the letter, Altai calls on the OraSure Board to reach a fair settlement that results in the appointment of Altai’s highly-qualified director nominees, Rishi Bajaj and John Bertrand, to the Board.

Highlights of the letter, which can be found in full here, include:

·	Chronic Underperformance. OraSure’s share price has dramatically underperformed comparable companies and broader indices over both five- and ten-year periods. Recent underperformance has been driven by repeated operational and strategic failures under the current management team—failures that occurred on the Board’s watch. Despite this track record, the Company continues to burn cash pursuing speculative diagnostics investments to the detriment of shareholders.
·	A Board Without Skin in the Game. Independent directors collectively own less than 1% of shares outstanding yet collect over $250,000 each per year in compensation. They bear little financial risk for decisions that have destroyed shareholder value. Shareholders who face the very real risk of losing money on their investment deserve a larger voice on the Board.
·	Pay Without Performance. Over 90% of CEO Carrie Eglinton Manner’s compensation is not tied to share price performance. She has earned an estimated $15 million over her tenure while shareholders have lost 60% of their investment since 2023. Her incentives are plainly misaligned with shareholder interests.
·	The Imperative for a Strategic Review. OraSure must evaluate a sale of the entire business alongside its current plan. We will represent and advocate for all shareholder interests in this process upon our appointment to the Board to ensure that the outcome delivers the best possible returns to shareholders.
·	Nominees With a Track Record of Results. Rishi Bajaj led ContextLogic’s transformation from a company burning $80 million of cash per quarter to one that completed a $907.5 million acquisition, producing a share price increase of over 120%. John Bertrand built the company behind the first FDA-cleared autonomous AI diagnostic solution in healthcare. Both nominees will seek to align their compensation directly with shareholder returns.

As previously announced, Altai has formally nominated Rishi Bajaj and John Bertrand for election at the 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.