State-of-the-Art Drug Testing

May 2010

Bridget Lorenz Lemberg is a Forensic Toxicologist with more than 20 years of toxicology and pharmacology experience.  She is also the founder and owner of one of the fastest growing biotech companies in west Michigan.  In 2005, she started Forensic Fluids Laboratories, a woman-owned biotech company that specializes in oral fluid drug testing for employers and for the legal and medical professions.  Forensic Fluids Labs, the only oral fluid testing laboratory in Michigan, started with one person, now employs 24 and is seeking to hire additional professional and technical workers.

All methods of drug testing, which include oral fluid, urine, hair, blood and sweat, have different windows of detection.  Oral fluid samples identify drug usage within the first four or five hours of ingesting and most drugs can be found for one to four days after the last dose.  “Ten years ago, while working for a commercial drug testing lab, I was one of the first people in the country to do oral-fluids testing,” relates Lemberg.  She recognized the opportunity saliva testing offered to obtain more accurate results from tests that are nearly impossible to cheat on.  “Saliva testing is fast, accurate and easy,” observes Lemberg.  This saliva testing system foils the creative ways those being tested previously used to circumvent unobserved urine drug screening.  “Our ‘stick-in-the-mouth” collection procedure can be observed by the collector in an office, eliminating privacy issues and uncomfortable situations for the collector and donor,” explains Lemberg.

According to Lemberg, “Test results are provided within twenty-four hours of receipt of the sample and no other lab in the country can match this. We can do this because we’ve invested in the latest drug confirmation technology.” It’s Forensic Fluids scientific testing equipment that separates the company from its competitors.  This liquid chromatography technology, known as LC/MS/MS, is the most sensitive confirmation method available and will positively identify and quantify more than 200 compounds.  “Our turn around time has attracted clients from government agencies, corporations and small businesses throughout the U.S. and Canada,” says Lemberg. 

Lemberg sought help from public sector resources when she launched Forensic Fluids.  She credits the assistance she received from the Small Business Technology Development Center (SBTDC) and SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) as critical to the success she’s achieved to date.  “I think I did a good job accessing the services those organizations offer,” relates Lemberg.  Business counselors helped Lemberg develop the company’s business plan, refine her business strategies and better understand the financial side of the company.  “The SBTDC business specialists provided guidance in evaluating and selecting strategies that have led to this next stage in our growth.  And they are still there when I need them.” Lemberg says.  “SBTDC offers many services for small business owners that focus on prioritizing strategies, developing implementation plans and monitoring progress, and I would encourage more people to take advantage of those opportunities.”  The SBA has also been a key partner in the growth of Forensic Fluids. “It was SBA financing that enabled the company to purchase the scientific equipment that gives us our competitive advantage,” says Lemberg.  In addition to SBA financing support, Forensic Fluids obtained low-interest loans from the state’s Pfizer Asset Retention Fund to offset the cost of hiring scientists. 

Located in the former Gibson Guitar factory, Forensic Fluids Laboratories recently expanded, nearly doubling its original size.  “There is a huge untapped oral drug testing market out there and Forensic Fluids is poised to capture a healthy share of that market by expanding into other testing areas such as mental health, pain management and hormones,” Lemberg says. The company also intends to develop and manufacture a state-of-the-art oral drug testing collection device that will capitalize on the manufacturing know-how that is inherent in Michigan.  Growth has come quickly to Forensic Fluids, with annual revenue increases in the triple digits in two of the last three years and projections for a similar increase in 2010.  “We’ve been fortunate,” Lemberg observes.  “The lab has received numerous awards for outstanding performance and customer service.  Last year, Forensic Fluids Laboratories was named one of Michigan’s top 50 companies to watch.”

Contact the SBTDC.