NMS Labs & Cerilliant announce identification of major metabolite of the synthetic cannabinoid JWH-073

WILLOW GROVE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.

“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.”

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.”

Technical details about this discovery will be available at www.nmslabs.com.

About NMS Labs:

NMS Labs is a national reference laboratory that is unsurpassed in its scope of toxicology tests, accuracy of results, scientific expertise, and innovation. NMS Labs is passionate about promoting public health and safety. NMS Labs is accredited to the ISO 15189 standards by the College of Pathologists. For more information on NMS Labs, please visit www.nmslabs.com.

About Cerilliant:

Cerilliant Corporation, located in Round Rock, Texas, is a global leader in providing certified reference standards for critical applications. The company has been providing certified reference materials for over 30 years. Cerilliant offers more than 2,800 catalog products and a full range of custom products and services that address the stringent and complex requirements of the pharmaceutical, clinical diagnostic, clinical/forensic toxicology, natural products, and environmental industries. Cerilliant sustains a modern, robust quality system which incorporates cGMP, GLP, and ISO requirements. We are accredited to ISO Guide 34 and ISO/IEC 17025 and certified to ISO 9001:2008.

Cerilliant Corporation is a Sigma-Aldrich^® company. For more information about Cerilliant, please visit www.cerilliant.com. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit www.sial.com.