April 17, 2026
— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs
OraSure Technologies has added a board member and reached an amicable agreement with activist investor Altai Capital.
The new board member is John D. Bertrand, who has held various executive posts and was a senior adviser to Bain Capital. He is an independent director (not employed by the company or having a significant financial stake).
Bethlehem-based OraSure, a maker of medical diagnostic kits and specimen-collection devices, also said it has made peace with Altai. That investor had been seeking seats on the board and perhaps a sale of the entire company.
Now, the company and Altai have agreed to talk regularly, and Altai has withdrawn its board nominations.
“We believe OraSure is well positioned to create meaningful long-term value for shareholders as it executes its strategy,” Altai founder Rishi Bajaj said in a joint press release.
That’s something, considering that OraSure said last month that Bajaj’s approach was “unfocused and vague.”
Shares of OraSure have been a laggard since the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have shown a little pep recently. At 10:40 a.m. today, the shares traded at $3.25, up 4 cents from yesterday.
Still, the shares are way down from the pandemic and msny long-term investors have not done well. OraSure’s product line includes InteliSwab, a quick test for COVID, and OraQuick, a home test for HIV. It also makes specimen-collection devices and plans to add more tests for sexually transmitted disease.
The company has a market capitalization of $225 million at Friday’s price.
Disclosure: I own shares in OraSure but as a short-term investor. I’m not looking for much here, but the shares dip under their cash value periodically, making the company somewhat interesting.
Here’s a cut-and-paste version of the statement:
OraSure Technologies Appoints John D. Bertrand to its Board of Directors
April 16, 2026 at 8:10 PM EDT
Enters into Cooperation Agreement with Altai Capital
Board to Seek Shareholder Approval for Declassification at the 2026 Annual Meeting
BETHLEHEM, Pa., April 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OraSure Technologies, Inc. (“OraSure” and “OTI”) (NASDAQ: OSUR), a leader in point-of-need and home diagnostic tests and sample management solutions, today announced the appointment of John D. Bertrand to its Board of Directors as an independent director, effective immediately.
Mr. Bertrand is a healthcare technology executive with more than a decade of experience driving AI-enabled innovation in diagnostics. He co-founded Digital Diagnostics Inc. and most recently served as its Chief Executive Officer, helping to transform the company from a research-stage organization into a global commercial platform for disease diagnosis. Previously, Mr. Bertrand held senior leadership positions at Epic Systems Corporation, with responsibility spanning product development, customer success, and business development. He also served as a Senior Advisor to Bain Capital and as Executive in Residence at 8VC, with a focus on AI applications in healthcare information technology.
OraSure also announced that it will seek shareholder approval at its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) to declassify the Board. The declassification proposal will be detailed in the Company’s 2026 Proxy Statement, which will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in advance of the Annual Meeting.
“We are pleased to welcome John to our Board as we continue to make meaningful progress in advancing our multi-year transformation strategy,” said Jack Kenny, Chair of the OTI Board. “OraSure is well positioned to continue accelerating our growth and driving margin improvement, and we believe John’s experience in AI-enabled diagnostics and commercial healthcare technology will strengthen our strategic efforts. Our proposal to declassify the Board further underscores our commitment to strong governance, disciplined oversight, and ongoing shareholder engagement as we work to deliver sustained, long-term value.”
In connection with the updates announced today and following constructive engagement, the Company has entered into a Cooperation Agreement with Altai Capital Management, L.P. (“Altai”). Under the terms of the Cooperation Agreement, Altai will withdraw its director nominations for the Annual Meeting and members of OraSure’s Board and management team will meet with Altai on a regular basis to discuss financial and strategic matters.
“We are pleased with the outcome of our engagement with OraSure and the steps the Company has taken to enhance its Board and governance practices,” said Rishi Bajaj, Founder and CIO of Altai. “John’s appointment, together with our ongoing constructive dialogue with OraSure’s Board and management team, strengthens our confidence that the Company is on the path to delivering sustained value. We believe OraSure is well positioned to create meaningful long-term value for shareholders as it executes its strategy.”
The Cooperation Agreement includes customary standstill, voting, and other provisions and will be filed on a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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.
McDermott Will & Schulte LLP is serving as legal advisor and ASC Advisors is serving as strategic communications advisor to Altai.
About OraSure Technologies, Inc.
OraSure Technologies, Inc. (“OraSure” and “OTI”) transforms health through actionable insight and decentralizes diagnostics to connect people to healthcare wherever they are. OraSure improves access, quality, and value of healthcare with innovation in effortless tests and sample management solutions. Together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, DNA Genotek Inc., Sherlock Biosciences, Inc., and BioMedomics, Inc., OTI is a leader in the development, manufacture, and distribution of rapid diagnostic tests and sample collection and stabilization devices designed to discover and detect critical medical conditions. OraSure’s portfolio of products is sold globally to clinical laboratories, hospitals, physicians’ offices, clinics, public health and community-based organizations, research institutions, government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and direct to consumers. For more information on OraSure Technologies, please visit http://www.orasure.com
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