RTI Wins $6.9M Federal Forensic Labs Contract

Research Triangle Park, N.C. — The federal government will continue to work with RTI International to gain a better understanding of both illegal drugs and in misappropriation of prescription drugs in the United States.

Under terms of a five-year, $6.9 million contract, RTI will collaborate with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Division of Diversion Control to help develop and maintain a “National Forensic Laboratory Information System.”

RTI researchers will work with other forensic laboratories in the U.S. to integrate information into the federal project. Data and forensic information from investigations and analysis are included in the system.

"A major strength of the database is that the data are scientifically verified and provide a key resource for law enforcement and policy officials with timely information on relatively uncommon but rapidly emerging drugs," said J. Valley Rachal, an RTI senior researcher and the project's director. "We've been able to provide extensive information about diverted pharmaceuticals, particularly pain medications, as well as popular 'club drugs.' "

The system, which RTI helped create, dates back to 1997. Information from 276 of 318 crime laboratories in the country representing some 91 percent of drug investigations is fed into the database for analysis.

As part of the project, RTI will seek to add other labs to the network and also develop an “alert” protocol designed to identify major changes in specific drug trends.

Information from more than 8 million drug cases is already included in the system. Cases cover seizures of controlled substances, divergence of prescription drugs and emergence of new drugs,