Pubdate: Wed, 28 Feb 2001
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053
Fax: (213) 237-7679
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Author: Joanna Corman
Note: News from Rancho Cucamonga in the Times Community Newspapers
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing)

COMPANY'S NEW DRUG/ALCOHOL TEST SET FOR RELEASE

Law Enforcement, Businesses Will Have Option To Purchase Device By April.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A local company is about to introduce a product that 
uses saliva to test levels of drugs and alcohol in the blood.

LifePoint Inc. will start marketing the testing device to law enforcement 
and industrial workplaces around April, company officials say. Marketing to 
emergency rooms will begin in late spring or early summer, said President 
and Chief Executive Linda Masterson.

The company intended to sell the product by the third quarter of last year. 
But changes in Federal Drug Administration rules and product design have 
brought delays, Masterson said.

The disposable device, which will sell for $25 for six tests, can determine 
whether there is marijuana, opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, PCP or alcohol 
in the blood by sampling a few drops of saliva.

Results are ready in about five minutes, much faster than the days or weeks 
for traditional blood or urine tests. Some law enforcement officials say 
the device could make the Breathalyzer obsolete. Masterson said she expects 
law enforcement agencies, businesses and emergency rooms to use the test.

By the end of this quarter, the company will send the product to users for 
evaluation. While Masterson said she couldn't disclose which sites would be 
doing the evaluation, she said they could be places such as hospitals and 
police stations. Seven sites will test for drugs and three will test for 
the presence of alcohol. The data from those tests will be gathered and 
forwarded to the FDA, Masterson said.

Because the FDA does not oversee law enforcement or the workplace, the 
company can release the product to those institutions before the agency 
approves the device. The company must wait for FDA approval, however, 
before distributing it to emergency rooms, a process that should take less 
than 100 days, Masterson said.

Though the product has yet to be released, there are already plans to 
expand its use.

"I think the availability of a simple and easy-to-use product will expand 
the market," Masterson said.

Masterson said the device could one day be used for health screenings to 
test levels of cholesterol and various enzymes or to rule out heart 
attacks, for example. Paramedics who first arrive at a scene could use it 
to determine why someone is unconscious.

Emergency rooms will be able to use it to test for prescription drugs 
common to overdoses, such as Valium, antidepressants and barbiturates. And 
the public could use it to monitor drug levels, say if someone was taking 
insulin shots or was on a toxic drug that requires a regular blood test to 
determine how much of the drug was in their system.

Since it's been all development and no sales, LifePoint has no profits, and 
its stock (AMEX: LFP) has gone from a 52-week high of $9.25 to a low of 
$2.69. It was trading Tuesday at $4.75.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens