(PRESS RELEASE)

Under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) contract with the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT), the Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC) is expanding its Drug Overdose Toxico-Surveillance (DOTS) Reporting Program evaluating patients with opioid and stimulant overdoses.

Phoenix, AZ, Oct. 17, 2023 -- In September of 2022, the FDA awarded the American College of Medical Toxicology’s (ACMT) Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC) a 5-year $7.9 million contract (75F40122D00028) to expand existing efforts in examining COVID-19 treatment related adverse events to include detailed clinical and laboratory information on patients presenting to the emergency department with an acute opioid and/or stimulant overdose.

This project was expanded with a contract award in September 2023, titled the Drug Overdose Toxico-Surveillance (DOTS) Reporting Program, which was created with the aim to provide accurate data on the evolving role of polysubstance use in non-fatal opioid- and stimulant-involved drug overdoses.

The DOTS project is designed to assess the sociodemographic characteristics, clinical information, and contextual data on opioid and/or stimulant overdoses, as well as obtaining biological specimens (blood samples) for patients presenting to 17 participating medical centers around the United States. Comprehensive laboratory testing of the samples is conducted by the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE). CSFRE testing methods facilitate detection of over one thousand analytes (prescription drugs and illicit substances, including novel emerging substances). 

ACMT’s ToxIC Program Director, Kim Aldy, DO, MBA states “ToxIC’s strengths are rooted in the clinical excellence of our medical toxicology physicians and their research staff, as well as their unwavering dedication to serving vulnerable patient populations, leading to long term improvement in patient treatment and care. We are grateful for this opportunity to continue and expand this invaluable work.”

The American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) is a professional, nonprofit association of physicians with recognized expertise and board certification in medical toxicology. Our members specialize in the prevention, evaluation, treatment, and monitoring of injury and illness from exposures to drugs and chemicals, as well as biological and radiological agents. ACMT members work in clinical, academic, governmental, and public health settings, and provide poison control center leadership. 

The Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC)is a multicenter toxicosurveillance and research network that detects new drugs of abuse, monitors adverse effects of post-marketing medications, and identifies emerging toxicological threats. Led by medical toxicology physicians and registry experts, our projects involve case registry design and maintenance.