In a follow up to the recent announcement of the identification of the "fake pot" JWH-018 metabolite, NMS Labs and Cerilliant Corporation announced today the identification of metabolites for a related drug, JWH-073, also used in the "legal high" products. JWH-073 is one of several "designer drugs" recently added to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Schedule I, which contains drugs with no known medical use.

Having selected likely candidates as possible structures for the elusive major metabolite of this drug, NMS Labs partnered with Cerilliant to have the compounds synthesized. Cerilliant completed the synthesis of the drug and NMS Labs Research and Development Team confirmed that one of them, omega minus one JWH-073, was the major metabolite present in human urine following use. This discovery will enable the introduction of more sensitive and specific urine testing for this drug and will open up opportunities for testing to many forensic, clinical, workplace, and probation drug testing programs.

Dr. Barry Logan, Director of Forensic Services at NMS Labs, noted that the availability of newly synthesized designer drugs not detectable by routine urine drug testing programs has increased the use of JWH-073, JWH-018, and related cannabinoids. He said, "Coming on the heels of our recent discovery regarding metabolism of JWH-018, it demonstrates how quickly forensic laboratories are closing the gap between the appearance of dangerous drugs and our ability to detect them. Collaborations such as this with Cerilliant provide important new tools to forensic and clinical laboratories."

Cerilliant Vice President, Mitzi Rettinger stated, "Cerilliant is excited to have participated with NMS Labs on this important project leading to a discovery that will improve detection of these highly abused substances throughout the entire testing community."

NMS Labs CEO, Dr. Eric Rieders stated, "We take pride in our reputation as leaders in assisting both criminal justice and healthcare systems in detecting, deterring and dealing with the tragic effects of the use of these new 'designer drugs' that are flooding our markets. We understand that only sustained efforts like the one leading to this discovery can allow us to maintain that position into the future as we all confront this new global supply chain of dangerous drugs of abuse."

Source:
NMS Labs
Cerilliant Corporation