News Release
PSYCHEMEDICS CORPORATION ANNOUNCES SALES & MARKETING AGREEMENT WITH BUPA IN UK
Acton, Massachusetts, May 19, 2009 – Psychemedics Corporation (NASDAQ: PMD) today announced that it has signed a sales and marketing agreement with leading international health and care organization Bupa, to market the patented Psychemedics hair analysis drug test in the UK.
Around one in three adults between the ages of 16 and 59 living in England and Wales admit to illegal drug use at some time1 and many firms, especially where workplace safety is critical, have a legal obligation to prevent staff from attempting to perform tasks under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Bupa Wellness is the pioneer of health screening in the UK and offers a range of preventive services to keep employees in the best of health and at work. The company looks after thousands of employees working in many of the UK’s leading companies through a range of occupational health, risk assessment, sickness absence reduction, and wellness promotion services.
Bupa Wellness helps employers concerned about the impact of drugs and alcohol in their business and can assist with the development of specific policies as well as screening, whether pre-employment, random or post-incident related.
Bupa Wellness currently offers urine and oral fluid testing. The patented Psychemedics hair analysis test for drug abuse will be added to Bupa’s range of services. Last year, Bupa tested tens of thousands of employees for drugs and alcohol and was requested to attend client workplaces following a drug or alcohol-related incident or concern around 100 times per month on average.
Raymond C. Kubacki, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Psychemedics, stated, “We are extremely pleased to be working with Bupa Wellness, the highest quality provider of drug and alcohol screening in the UK. We view this as the perfect match since we provide the highest quality and most cost-effective drug test available. By offering employers a true one-stop-shop for drug and alcohol screening from policy development to rehabilitation, Bupa Wellness can capitalize on the rapidly developing growth opportunities in the UK.”
Dr. Jenny Leeser, Clinical Director Occupational Health for Bupa Wellness commented: “The Psychemedics hair test provides a key addition to the comprehensive drug and alcohol screening programs we already offer our clients. As the world’s leader in drug testing using hair analysis, Psychemedics’ patented method provides the highest quality drug test available. We are very pleased that we will now be able to offer this test to our clients, thus further helping them to establish and maintain a drug-free workplace.”
ENDS NOTES TO EDITORS
1 European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 2005
For further information please contact:
Raymond C. Kubacki
Chairman, President and CEO
Psychemedics
Tel: +01 (978) 206-8220
About Psychemedics
Psychemedics Corporation is the world’s largest provider of testing for drugs of abuse using hair analysis with thousands of corporations relying on the patented Psychemedics drug testing services. Psychemedics’s clients include over 10% of the Fortune 500, some of the largest police departments in America and Federal Reserve Banks
The Psychemedics web site is www.psychemedics.com
OR
Joanne Hudson
Bupa Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7656 2273
Email: hudsojoa@bupa.com
About Bupa
Bupa is the UK market leader in health and care with a strong international presence. Established in 1947, it has over 10 million customers in more than 190 countries and over 52,000 employees. Its main interests are health insurance, care homes for older people and young disabled, health assessments, workplace health services. Bupa Travel offers a bespoke travel insurance service. Sanitas in Spain, MBF, HBA, Mutual Community in Australia and DCA Aged care in Australia and New Zealand, IHI in Denmark and Health Dialog in the US are all part of the Bupa Group which also has centres in Hong-Kong, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. Bupa is a company limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. As a result, it can focus on its customers, helping them to live longer, healthier lives and can reinvest all of its profits to do this – this is the dividend that Bupa provides.
The Bupa web site is www.bupa.com
Cautionary Statement for purposes of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: From time to time, information provided by Psychemedics may contain forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements contained in this release that are not historical facts (including but not limited to statements concerning earnings, earnings per share, revenues, dividends, future business, new accounts, customer base, market share, test volume and sales and marketing strategies) may be “forward-looking” statements. Actual results may differ from those stated in any forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include but are not limited to risks associated with the expansion of the Company’s sales and marketing network, development of markets for new products and services offered, the economic health of principal customers of the Company, government regulation, including but not limited to FDA regulations, competition and general economic conditions and other factors disclosed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.