Beckman Coulter Introduces New Opiate 2000 Assay For Use On Synchron Clinical Systems.

BREA, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--March 17, 1999--Beckman Coulter recently introduced a new Opiate drug of abuse reagent with a 2000 ng/mL cut-off for opiate metabolites.

This assay meets the new federal guidelines for workplace drug testing set by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

SAMHSA raised the Opiate cut-off level to 2000 ng/mL, after an extensive study of 1.1 million specimens showed that 87 percent of all reported positives (from an initial screening at 300 ng/mL cut-off) were later confirmed as negatives. The reasons given for reporting false positive results include the use of prescription medications that contain codeine or morphine and ingestion of poppy seeds, which also may contain morphine and/or codeine.

Since the purpose of workplace drug testing programs is to detect the use of illegal drugs, the agency raised the opiate test cut-off level to 2000 ng/mL to reduce the number of costly laboratory confirmations.

Opiate 2000 now joins the 12 other qualitative drugs of abuse tests that can be run on urine samples on SYNCHRON(R) Clinical Systems -- Amphetamines, Barbiturates, Benzodiazepine, Cannabinoid 20 ng, Cannabinoid 50 ng, Cannabinoid 100 ng, Cocaine, Methadone, Methaqualone, Opiate (300 ng/mL cut-off), Phencyclidine and Propoxyphene. Opiate 2000 is specifically formulated for use on SYNCHRON CX(R)4 Delta, CX(R)5 Delta, CX7 Delta, CX4CE, CX5CE, CX7, CX4, CX5, CX7RTS, CX9ALX, LX(R)20 and LX4200 systems.

Beckman Coulter offers a continually expanding menu of reagents, calibrators and controls that provides high quality testing of today's most popular drugs of abuse analytes. Each liquid, ready-to-use reagent is conveniently packaged in bar-coded cartridges, which increases efficiency of reagent handling and eliminates time-consuming reagent preparation steps.

Beckman Coulter is a leading provider of instrument systems and complementary products that simplify and automate processes in life science and clinical laboratories. The company's products are used throughout the world in all phases of the battle against disease, from pioneering medical research and drug discovery to diagnostic testing that aids in patient treatment.

Please send READER INQUIRIES from this press release to Jan Petroff, Beckman Coulter, 200 S. Kraemer Blvd., Mail Station W525, Brea, Calif. 92821, USA.

Canadian publications, please send READER INQUIRIES from this press release to Beckman Coulter (Canada), 1034 Tristar Drive., Mississauga, Ontario, L5T 1W4, CANADA.