Omega Laboratories Announces Groundbreaking 17-panel Hair Drug Test to Help Organizations Tackle Drug Epidemic

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May 15, 2018, 08:17 ET

MOGADORE, Ohio, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Omega Laboratories is proud to introduce the Omega Hair 17-panel drug test, the most comprehensive hair test ever offered. This new offering tests for 45 different substances, helping safety-sensitive employers to proactively address the growing epidemic of hard drug use around the globe. This exciting new panel, which will be available starting on June 4^th, 2018, will offer the detection of a much wider class of drugs of abuse, including Benzodiazepines, Barbiturates, Fentanyl, Tramadol and Ketamine.

Omega's new Hair 17-panel is the largest hair test on the market to utilize proven ELISA screening technology, developed from the same process for which Omega has been granted a number of 510(k) clearances from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This means that employers, government agencies and other entities can now expand their drug testing programs while still benefitting from the assurance provided by Omega's industry-leading credentials.

This new panel offers testing for a total of 45 different substances, including 8 commonly abused variants of Benzodiazepines. The test has been specifically designed to address the current growing trends in workplace drug abuse, including the rise of Fentanyl and prescription opiate abuse as well as the introduction of Ketamine from outside of the United States.

"Hair testing is a lifestyle test, showing an approximate 90-day window of usage," said Bill Corl, Omega's CEO. "This makes hair testing the perfect tool to identify if someone is at risk of becoming another statistic in this growing epidemic."

This new panel uses a proprietary screening method which allows Omega to screen for 17+ drug classes using only 12.5 mg of hair. This new method helps Omega to maintain their reputation as the most innovative forensic hair testing laboratory. Like all of Omega's proven hair testing, confirmations are performed using Mass Spectrometry methods, such as GC/MS/MS, and LC/MS/MS technology.

"This is not the first time Omega has chosen to innovate ahead of our competitors," said John Vitullo, Omega's Chairman. "We understand that the needs of the global drug testing markets are continually changing and we are here to lead that advancement."

The drugs included in the screen are Amphetamines, Methamphetamines, Cocaine, Marijuana, Opiates, Synthetic Opiates, Fentanyl, PCP, Benzodiazepines, Barbiturates, Methadone, Propoxyphene, Meperidine, Tramadol, Ketamine, Buprenorphine and Zolpidem. For additional information and cutoff levels, please contact Omega at 1-800-655-5569 or [email protected].

About Omega Laboratories, Inc. - Omega Laboratories, an industry leader in advanced specimen drug testing, has been working for years to move hair testing forward. Omega was the first US hair testing laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 standards, an accomplishment that was later sought out by their competitors. Omega helped lead the charge to adopt the superior ELISA screening technology, which has since been embraced as the industry-standard method. Omega was also instrumental in the addition of synthetic opiates to the DOT testing program, having presented a study to SAMHSA on the topic in 2013, providing legislators with important statistics on the prevalence of the abuse of these painkillers. Omega Laboratories headquartered in Mogadore, Ohio is a state-of-the-art facility providing laboratory-based hair and oral fluid testing for drugs of abuse to over 6,000 clients worldwide.

SOURCE Omega Laboratories, Inc.