Abbott Laboratories announced the introduction of 10 assays for drug abuse screening and toxicology including amphetamines/methamphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabinoids, cocaine, ethanol, methadone, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP) and propoxyphene. Designed for use on Abbott's Architect c8000, Architect ci8200 and Aeroset Immunochemistry Systems, these tests will be introduced and distributed worldwide.

"Clinical chemistry continues to be an important focus for our business. These tests are critical to expanding our diagnostic test menus as they are used by emergency departments and in a variety of lab environments including those performing employee drug screening," said Douglas C. Bryant, vice president, Global Commercial Operations, Diagnostics Division, Abbott Laboratories. "By offering these tests on multiple systems, we're able to support today's increasing demands on the laboratory and provide them with the flexibility, efficiency and accuracy needed to process high volumes of patient samples," he added.

These assays, with the exception of ethanol, utilize an Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique. This test method uses antibodies that react with the particular drug being detected. If the target drug is present in the sample, highly specific antibodies attach to it and induce an optical change that can be measured by the immunochemistry system.

"These particular assays provide precise and accurate results, and they can be fully integrated into our Aeroset and Architect systems without compromising test throughput time, providing the added convenience of workstation consolidation," said William Brown, Ph.D., vice president, Diagnostic Assays and Systems Development, Abbott Laboratories.

According to the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention World Drug Report 2000, it is estimated that 180 million people abuse drugs worldwide with cannabinoids, amphetamine-type stimulants, cocaine and opiates being the most prevalently used.