Trimega Laboratories Honoured to Represent UK at the European Business Awards

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May 08, 2011, 07:00 ET

LONDON, May 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Trimega Laboratories is pleased to announce that it has been selected by The European Business Awards, sponsored by HSBC, to represent the United Kingdom in the prestigious 2011 awards programme. Trimega beat off stiff competition to be selected as one of 25 Country Representatives and will now compete for a coveted Ruban d'Honneur for The UKTI Award for Innovation, in recognition of Trimega's pioneering use of dual testing of hair to determine alcohol abuse. Final category award winners will be unveiled in Barcelona on 22nd November 2011.

Avi Lasarow, CEO of Trimega Laboratories, said: "We are thrilled to be selected to represent the UK in the European Business Awards. We have been an innovator and leader in the substance misuse analysis industry since our foundation in 2005 and we are delighted that our pioneering work and development of dual testing for hair alcohol analysis has been recognised by the awards. Done together the two tests provide a very high rate of accuracy so the industry is making a vital contribution to the welfare of children in custody and adoption cases."

Trimega commercialised the technological breakthrough of analysing human hair samples for alcohol, firmly believing that just as hair testing had become accepted by the industry as the 'gold standard' for analysis of drug abuse, hair testing for alcohol would receive similar recognition once it had been shown to be very accurate. One of Trimega's key achievements was being the first to market with dual marker hair alcohol testing (FAEE and EtG).

A conclusion of a High Court judgment last year was that only dual marker hair alcohol tests should be used for cases where hair analysis is applied. Dual hair testing provides very accurate results: at its annual conference in April, the Society of Hair Testing (SOHT) confirmed that dual testing on hair for alcohol misuse provides accuracy rates of over 94%, with less than a 1% risk of a false positive, and just a 5.75% risk of a false negative. The SOHT's consensus was based on analysis of Trimega's data set of approximately 2,000 dual hair testing samples, the largest of its kind in the world.

In February this year, Trimega opened a state-of-the-art laboratory in Manchester.

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: "We are very proud that Trimega has been selected as just one of 25 companies to represent the UK in the awards. Trimega is a world leader in the fast-growth market for hair testing for alcohol and drug abuse and I was absolutely delighted when the company chose Manchester as the location for its new laboratory and I was able to attend the launch."

Lasarow added: "The European Business Awards is widely recognised as the showcase for Europe's most dynamic companies. We look forward to the next round of the competition where we'll be competing across Europe to receive a Ruban d'Honneur and hopefully win the category for the UKTI Award for Innovation."

The results of Trimega's work are of particular benefit in child custody and adoption cases and the company's key clients are social services and the legal sector. In 2010, Trimega conducted almost 11,000 tests for the family courts in England and Wales.

The European Business Awards has identified some of Europe's brightest businesses based on their ability to demonstrate the three core principles at the heart of the awards programme. The panel of judges was looking for organisations to represent the UK who exhibited innovation, business excellence and sustainability.

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards, said: "Over the past five years we've received an incredibly high standard of entries from organisations that are passionate about their business. However, very few get the chance to fly the flag for their country and compete across Europe to be recognised as one of the EU's leading companies. It really is an exceptional accolade to be picked as a Country Representative, and together with HSBC we're looking forward to seeing Trimega in the next round."

John Casey, HSBC Head of Commercial Banking Europe, commented: "The European Business Awards provide a perfect opportunity to recognise the best of European business and their successes over the past twelve months. These companies have displayed an impressive ability to thrive despite challenging economic conditions, pursuing growth and creating prosperity. Their recognition is highly deserved, and through the European Business Awards their success – and the stories behind that - can be shared across the wider business community. Trimega and the 24 other country representatives will provide tough competition for the other quality businesses representing their own nations this year, and we wish them every success at the next stage."

www.trimegalabs.co.uk

SOURCE Trimega Laboratories