Oral Drug Testing- Information and Press releases

Drug Testing News

Oral drug testing -- Information and Press Releases.

LifePoint sees new drug saliva test on market

LabOne, STC Technologies, and Epitope Collectively Introduce Oral Fluid Drug Testing Service

Avitar, Inc.'s Oral Fluid-Based Drug Test, Oralscreen(TM) 4, Rapidly Detects Club Drug 'Ecstasy'

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LifePoint sees new drug saliva test on market in May

DANA POINT, Calif., Feb 20, 2001 (Reuters) -Lifepoint Inc.

(AMEX:LFP - news) said on Tuesday it expects to launch in May a new device, using technology originally developed by the Navy to detect biological weapons, for testing drugs and alcohol in a saliva sample.

"Our test is noninvasive and automatic. It enables emergency medical technicians, paramedics or nurses to quickly test, with a high degree of sensitivity, for drugs and alcohol,'' Linda Masterson, the company's chief executive officer, said at a Roth Capital Partners Conference being held here.

The LifePoint portable testing device takes about five minutes to simultaneously test for alcohol and five commonly used drugs, including cocaine, opiates, PCP, amphetamines, and marijuana and to print out the results.

Masterson noted that the first two applications for the product -- law enforcement and workplace drug testing -- do not require U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The company's third target market -- emergency medical settings -- will need FDA approval and LifePoint expects to have that in the third quarter of this year, Masterson said.

Potential North American sales for the three combined markets is $1.5 billion a year, according to LifePoint.

"This is not like a yes or no urine test. We can test accurately for specific types of drugs and their quantity,'' the CEO said.

The LifePoint test is must faster and less expensive to use than traditional blood testing, which requires laboratory analysis, she added.

"Law enforcement personnel cannot now test for drugs -- they have to take the person to a hospital, which takes a lot of time and costs several hundred dollars,'' Masterson said.

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LabOne, STC Technologies, and Epitope Collectively Introduce Oral Fluid Drug Testing Service.

PR Newswire, Feb 2, 2000

The Intercept(TM) Oral Fluid Drug Test Delivers Convenience, Cost Savings, and Preserves Employee Dignity

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- STC Technologies, Inc., in partnership with LabOne, Inc. (Nasdaq: LABS) and Epitope, Inc. (Nasdaq: EPTO), announced today the introduction of the Intercept(TM) oral fluid drug test, a laboratory-based service that identifies commonly-used illicit drugs in oral fluid samples. It is the first laboratory-based oral fluid drug testing service to be made commercially available in North America.

The introduction of a laboratory-based oral fluid testing service has been widely anticipated within the workplace and criminal justice drug markets where the process of providing and handling urine for analysis has been criticized as "invasive, demeaning and expensive." By eliminating the urine collection process, the Intercept(TM) oral fluid drug test provides a more efficient, dignified, and directly observable collection step. As such, it offers "anytime, anywhere" sample retrieval capability and significantly reduces the possibility of sample adulteration. Clinical studies show that the Intercept(TM) oral fluid drug test performs with comparable results to urine-based drug tests.

The Intercept(TM) oral fluid drug test parallels laboratory-based urine testing that uses enzyme immunoassay (EIA) technology to screen specimens and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to confirm results. The Intercept(TM) system employs a tandem MS/MS confirmation methodology to add increased sensitivity for smaller sample volumes. This methodology has a track record in urine drug testing for more than 15 years.

"The Intercept(TM) oral fluid drug testing service is an extremely exciting evolution in the drug testing field, made possible by the collective efforts of three industry leaders that addressed a common challenge," commented Bill Hinchey, executive vice president of STC. "With this new service, we can reliably detect drug use, create significant efficiencies in the collection process, and speed up turnaround time on results. We believe that with all these benefits, both donors and test administrators will prefer a system that circumvents the need for urinating in a cup."

Under terms of the collaborative agreement, STC, LabOne and Epitope will all play pivotal roles in the marketing of the new lab service. STC, the leader in oral fluid immunoassay technology, will provide reagents as well as marketing support. Epitope produces the Intercept(TM) collection device and will provide sales support for the criminal justice and public health markets. Laboratory testing, result reporting, workplace sales, and account management will be assumed by LabOne.

"The greatest potential in the drug testing market is finding better and more efficient means for sample collection," said Michael A. Peat, Ph.D., president of LabOne's Substance Abuse Testing Division. "We believe that the introduction of the Intercept(TM) oral fluid drug testing service is a significant forward in this regard."

While the Intercept(TM) oral fluid drug testing service is expected to make a significant impact in the workplace drug testing market, it will also be made available to the public health and criminal justice markets. In an expanded effort beginning this month, STC will work with Epitope's sales force to introduce the service to market segments such as parole and probation, public health, and the nation's growing network of drug courts.

To collect a sample, a test administrator asks the test subject to place a treated collection pad between his or her lower cheek and gum for at least two minutes. Once the collection pad is saturated, it is placed in a vial containing a preservative to protect the sample. The handle of the collection device is snapped off at the rim of the vial, the vial is sealed, and sent with a completed chain-of-custody form for analysis.

Negative results can be reported within 24 hours of receipt at the laboratory and positive confirmations within 72 hours.

Many companies face significant logistical issues when confronted with urine testing which end up costing them time, money, and reducing employee morale, according to Peat and others.

They point out that, in terms of the true cost of drug testing -- lab services, collection costs, travel time, administration, and downtime waiting for results -- the Intercept(TM) service will be one of the most cost- effective drug testing alternatives available today.

Drug testing is now used by 90 percent of Fortune 100 companies because maintaining a drug-free work environment can significantly improve safety and productivity, while reducing absenteeism and theft. More than 40 million specimens are tested annually for illicit drugs in the United States, about 70 percent of which are conducted for workplace testing.

About LabOne, STC, and Epitope

LabOne is a national laboratory with three divisions: risk appraisal testing for insurers (Insurance Services Division), health care related testing for benefit providers, physicians, and managed care organizations (Clinical Division), and drug testing for employers (Substance Abuse Testing Division). The company is the leading oral fluid testing laboratory in the United States. STC is a privately-held company that develops, manufactures and markets proprietary in vitro diagnostic products and medical devices for use in clinical labs, physicians' offices, and workplace testing. The company is the leading supplier of oral fluid assays to the insurance risk assessment testing market and also manufactures and markets the Q.E.D.(R) Saliva Alcohol Test, a line of oral fluid alcohol tests to the workplace testing market. Epitope is an innovative medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets oral fluid collection technology products. Its current oral fluid collection devices and the associated oral fluid diagnostic tests are approved by the FDA for sale in the U.S. market for HIV-1 antibody testing and have been reviewed for detection of drugs of abuse and cotinine (to identify smokers).

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Avitar, Inc.'s Oral Fluid-Based Drug Test, Oralscreen(TM) 4, Rapidly Detects Club Drug 'Ecstasy'.

PR Newswire, April 25, 2000

CANTON, Mass., April 25/PRNewswire/ --

Observing reports of rising abuse of "club drugs," Avitar, Inc. (Amex: AVR) feels it is important to emphasize that its ORALscreen 4 (TCOM) includes the detection of MDMA, also known on the street as Ecstasy, E, and XTC. ORALscreen 4 is the first US patent-protected point-of-contact technology that captures oral fluid to screen positive presence of marijuana (THC), cocaine, opiates and methamphetamine.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1.4 million Americans between the ages of 18-25 are among the heaviest users of "club drugs."** MDMA, known as Ecstasy, is a methamphetamine that can increase heart rate and body temperature to hazardous levels. Young adults use the synthetic, mind- altering drug while reveling at bars, nightclubs, rock shows and raves, and often dangerously mix their use with alcohol consumption.

"Testing for 'club drugs' has never been easier. When we added Methamphetamine to the ORALscreen panel, we gained the ability to test for major drugs of abuse that account for over 96% of all positive test results," said Peter P. Phildius, Avitar's Chairman and CEO. "ORALscreen 4 detects Ecstasy, in an on-site, rapid, oral fluid drug test. As growing numbers of our nation's working adults regularly abuse 'club drugs,' drug-testing programs now have a more convenient alternative with ORALscreen 4."

Avitar, Inc. (Amex: AVR) headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical devices based on core technologies in oral fluid diagnostics and customized polyurethane applications.

The Company markets a unique portfolio of substance abuse testing products and services that include ORALscreen, the world's first rapid point-of-contact oral fluid test for drugs of abuse, HAIRscreen(TM), a laboratory-based test for long term drug abuse using hair, and several other specialized tests for drugs of abuse. Avitar also markets an oral fluid collection system for DNA testing as well as a proprietary line of polyurethane-based high tech medical devices. For more information, see Avitar's website at www.avitarinc.com .

This release contains forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the development and marketing of new applications and other risks that are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

**Source: "INFOFAX: Ecstasy 13547," National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. April 20, 2000. http://165.112.78.61/Infofax/ecstasy.html COPYRIGHT 2000 PR Newswire Association, Inc.

SOURCE: Avitar, Inc.

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Avitar, Inc. Forms a Partnership With DIPRO Diagnostic Products, GmbH

CANTON, Mass., Jan. 9, 2001 (PR Newswire) -- Avitar, Inc. (Amex: AVR - news) today announced that it has formed a strategic partnership, effective immediately, with DIPRO, Diagnostic Products, GmbH, to broaden its foothold in both the European and domestic criminal law enforcement diagnostics marketplaces. This commitment secures for Avitar exclusive rights to develop sales of DIPRO's DRUGLAB(TM) product line in Europe (excluding Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland), as well as rights to recruit DRUGLAB's European distributors. Avitar also gains exclusive rights to distribute the DRUGLAB product line throughout the United States. Through the partnership, DIPRO becomes the exclusive European representative for Avitar's ORALscreen(TM) and HAIRscreen(TM) product lines.

"Our alliance with DIPRO enables us to market ORALscreen and HAIRscreen in the European law enforcement and workplace markets through DIPRO's distributor network,'' said Peter Phildius, Avitar's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "It is our hope that combining forces with DIPRO for reciprocal marketing of our products will lead to new opportunities together in the future.''

"By combining DRUGLAB with our menu of drugs-of-abuse detection diagnostics, we are demonstrating the commitment to offering our customers a comprehensive and extensive range of security and drug detection oriented products and services. DRUGLAB will also strengthen our relationship with stateside distributors who supply the law enforcement community with tools for substance abuse identification,'' added Phildius.

ABOUT ORALSCREEN(TM)

Avitar's ORALscreen(TM) is the world's first oral fluid point-of- collection drugs-of-abuse system for detecting recent abuse of marijuana (THC), cocaine, opiates, methamphetamine, and MDMA also known as Ecstasy. ORALscreen is a highly sensitive, simple-to-use, reliable, and portable drug test that detects the presence of specific illegal substances within minutes. With ORALscreen, oral fluid is collected under readily observable conditions, on-site and on-demand, making it nearly impossible to contaminate test results.

ABOUT HAIRSCREEN(TM)

Avitar's HAIRscreen(TM) is the test for long-term drug use history that, with just a few strands of hair, provides highly accurate and reliable quantitative data on drug use for up to 90 days prior to the test date. While reducing concerns for sample adulteration associated with urine samples, this laboratory-processed test yields significantly more information than urine, and indicates for amphetamines, marijuana (THC), cocaine, opiates, and PCP.

ABOUT DRUGLAB(TM)

DIPRO's DRUGLAB(TM) products, designed for criminal law enforcement, are mobile diagnostic drug-testing systems that provide accurate, on-the-spot screening for drugs-of-abuse. Kits employ easy-to-use, one-step methods to identify and detect surface materials and unmarked configurations of bulk materials for drugs-of-abuse that include amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabinoids, cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates and tricyclic antidepressants. Test performance is simple and requires no special training or certification.

ABOUT DIPRO

Based in Ebreichsdorf, Austria, DIPRO, Diagnostic Products, GmbH, is committed to providing high quality, scientifically sound drug testing tools for use by professionals in the workplace, criminal justice, and clinical markets at a reasonable cost. DIPRO's line of mobile drug detection laboratory kits are designed to expedite evidence gathering in the field by providing the immediate means to screen and identify unmarked substances such as tablets, liquids, powder and dust.

ABOUT AVITAR, INC.

Avitar, Inc. (Amex: AVR - news) headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical devices based on core technologies in oral fluid diagnostics and customized polyurethane applications. The company markets a unique portfolio of substance abuse testing products and services that include ORALscreen(TM), the world's first rapid point-of- collection oral fluid test for drugs of abuse, ORALadvantage(TM), the first comprehensive substance abuse program featuring its oral fluid-based products, HAIRscreen(TM), a laboratory-based test for detecting long term drug abuse using hair, and several other specialized tests for drugs of abuse. ORALscreen is a cost-effective drugs-of-abuse test with potential net cost savings of more than $100.00 per sample tested. Additional products include an oral fluid collection system for DNA testing as well as a proprietary line of polyurethane-based high tech medical devices.

For more information, see Avitar's website at www.avitarinc.com.

This release contains forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties including the development and marketing of new applications and other risks that are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE: Avitar, Inc.