Avitar Announces Distribution Agreement With Quest Diagnostics For Avitar's ORALscreen(TM) Point-of-Collection Drugs-of-Abuse Tests

October 30, 2001

CANTON, Mass., Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Avitar, Inc. (Amex: - ), a diagnostics company that develops, manufactures and markets innovative and proprietary medical devices in the oral fluid drugs-of-abuse market and the disease and clinical testing market, today announced an agreement under which Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: - ) will distribute Avitar's ORALscreen(TM) tests to detect drugs of abuse.

Quest Diagnostics is the nation's leading provider of diagnostic and drugs-of-abuse testing, information and services. Each year Quest Diagnostics performs over 8 million drugs-of-abuse tests for Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and sports authorities. ORALscreen complements Quest Diagnostics' traditional drugs-of-abuse testing business, which relies on urine specimens that are collected at employers' offices or at Quest Diagnostics' patient service centers and are tested by the company's network of six forensic toxicology labs that have been certified by the U.S Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

``We are pleased that Quest Diagnostics, the nation's leading provider of employer drug testing services, will be distributing Avitar's ORALscreen device,'' said Peter P. Phildius, Avitar's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. ``This will help take Avitar to yet another level in the acceptance of our oral fluid technology as becoming a standard in the marketplace.''

Phildius continued, ``ORALscreen will enable Quest Diagnostics' customers to speed up their hiring processes. ORALscreen will be particularly beneficial for some employers involved in retailing and temporary personnel placement by enabling them to add employees quickly, especially in times of peak hiring such as the holiday season.''

ORALscreen is the first rapid on-site oral fluid screening device for drugs-of-abuse testing. ORALscreen uses Avitar's proprietary polyurethane and oral fluid technology to detect up to four classes of abuse -- opiates, marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The ORALscreen system is comprised of two single-use components, a patented oral fluid collector and a test device. The test device utilizes lateral flow immunoassay technology to produce visually interpreted results in fifteen minutes or less. The test can be administered virtually anywhere without the need for special collection facilities or additional testing equipment.

ABOUT AVITAR

Avitar, Inc. (Amex: - ) headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, is a diagnostics company that develops, manufactures and markets innovative and proprietary medical devices in two major areas: the oral fluid drugs-of-abuse market and the disease & clinical testing market. 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. 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. In the $20 billion disease & clinical testing market, Avitar is currently developing products that will address the conditions of Lyme disease, influenza and diabetes, as well as pregnancy. 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.