Firm to Withdraw Home HIV Test; Low Demand Cited

Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that it is withdrawing its Confide home HIV test because of a lack of consumer demand.

“After a year on the market, the usage level of Confide is quite low,” said Robert Miller, president of Johnson & Johnson’s Direct Access Diagnostics unit.

Confide was cleared for marketing by the Food and Drug Administration on May 14, 1996. The test and accompanying service were introduced in Texas and Florida a year ago and in other areas across the country in September.

Test results will continue to be processed until Aug. 8 to serve any client who had purchased the test kit on or before June 26 but had not yet sent in a test card, the company said. Anyone submitting a test card after Aug. 8 and subsequently calling for the result will be informed of steps to obtain a refund.

The Confide Result Center will continue to operate until Aug. 29 to transmit results and provide counseling and referral services, Johnson & Johnson said. After Aug. 29, callers will be directed to the National AIDS Hotline, operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for information on local counseling services.

Johnson & Johnson would not disclose the costs of withdrawing the test. About 60 jobs will be affected between next week and the end of the year, but attempts will be made to place the employees at other Johnson & Johnson companies, a spokesman said.

Home HIV tests are also sold by Home Access Health Corp.