Irish company launches drug driving test kit

A major technology development by an Irish company is set to revolutionise the capacity of police to undertake road-side tests for “drug driving”

The vast majority of current drug tests are taken with a urine sample sent to a central laboratory – a process which is obviously not suitable for testing drivers at the side of the highway.

Biosensia, a Cork-headquartered technology company, is meeting the road side challenges by creating a portable, hand-held device that is simple and easy to use by non medically trained staff, giving a “yes/no” result in a matter of minutes from a small sample of a subject’s saliva taken on a swab.

It is expected that the first Biosensia technology- based kits will be manufactured early next year.

The Biosensia device is not however restricted to road-side use and can also address the detection of drug abuse in the workplace, an increasingly serious problem for employers internationally.

Biosensia has already shown its technology to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety in Ireland and members of the Association of Chief Police Officers in the UK where usability tests are scheduled for later this year.

Biosensia chief executive Dr Gabriel Crean said drug driving was a recognised issue, with an increasing number of governments looking to introduce roadside drug testing.

Biosensia (www.biosensia.com) develops and supply’s disposable diagnostic test chips for point-of-use analytical applications.

The company is funded by Atlantic Bridge Ventures, Street Capital and Enterprise Ireland and is headquartered in Cork, with product development teams based in Cork and Kildare, Lund, Sweden and Cranfield, UK.