Avitar, Inc. to Host First European Distributor Conference for ORALscreen(TM) and DrugLab(TM)

Representatives From 14 European Countries to Attend

March 28, 2001

CANTON, Mass., March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Avitar, Inc. (Amex: - news) announced today that it is hosting a European distributor conference in Baden, Austria on March 29 and 30, 2001. The conference, to be attended by 20 representatives from 14 European countries, is intended to train and enroll major distribution partners in Avitar's oral fluid products and the DIPRO DrugLab system. Among the distribution representatives are companies from all of the major European markets with expertise in selling to the law enforcement and medical products industries.

The conference, co-hosted by Avitar and DIPRO Diagnostics Products GMBH, can be attended by invitation only. Presentations will be made by experts from the clinical diagnostics industry and European drug testing market, including Dr. Christian Eder Ph.D., clinical toxicologist for DIPRO, Mr. Joseph Kachelmeier, Chief Inspector for the Vienna Airport Police Department, and Dr. James Campbell Ph.D., Managing Director of SureScreen Diagnostics LTD.

``We estimate that the European market represents approximately 30% of drug testing in the world and is growing at twice the rate of the United States. ORALscreen acceptance by the corporate workplace and criminal justice markets is going very well in the United States, however, many European countries are far ahead of the U.S. in implementing drug testing on the roadside, and oral fluid is the preferred method in Europe,'' stated Peter P. Phildius, Avitar's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. ``In fact, ORALscreen has been evaluated for use in this market and is a perfect fit for this segment. This is the first of many opportunities to take advantage of our arrangement with DIPRO to expose ORALscreen to the rapidly growing European market,'' added Phildius.

``Europeans tend to purchase within their local regions. Our goal is to target these markets with the distributors who have established themselves in those regions,'' said Christa Poiger, President of DIPRO. ``We are the only company that can offer a complete product like ORALscreen for drug testing and DrugLab for substance detection and verification, and the response to distributing these products has been excellent,'' added Poiger.

ABOUT AVITAR

Avitar, Inc. (Amex: - news) headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, develops, manufactures and markets innovative medical devices based on proprietary core technologies for two distinctive markets: oral fluid diagnostics and customized polyurethane applications used in the wound dressing industry. Oral fluid diagnostics includes both the drugs-of-abuse testing market estimated to be worth $1.5 billion encompassing the corporate workplace and criminal justice markets and the $20 billion clinical diagnostics market.

Avitar's products include ORALscreen(TM), the world's first non-invasive, rapid, onsite oral fluid test for drugs-of-abuse, and HAIRscreen(TM), a laboratory based hair test for detecting long-term drug abuse. Additionally, the company manufactures and markets HYDRASORB(TM), an absorbent topical dressing for moderate to heavy exudating wounds. In 2001, the company formed strategic partnerships with DIPRO Diagnostic Products GmbH and Pinkerton Security Group and acquired Texas-based BJR Security Service provider of canines trained to detect narcotics, explosives and firearms for markets that include education and the oil and petroleum industry.

For more information, see Avitar's website at avitarinc.com.

This release contains forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties including the development and marketing of new applications and other risks that are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.