Rexburg-based team showcasing new technology for saliva drug testing
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REXBURG — A Rexburg-based sales team is promoting a new saliva drug test that they say is faster, easier to watch in real time, and harder to cheat than a urine test.
Rexburg resident Colin Cardenaz is the leader of Oratek Diagnostic’s Rexburg sales team. The company is based out of Utah with several satellite sales teams, including Cardenaz’s Rexburg team.
“Team Teamwork,” as Cardenas has nick-named themselves, focuses on sales to addiction treatment centers. Although based out of Rexburg, “Team Teamwork” is a national sales force, often traveling for weeks on long excursions in places like Boise, Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles and Sacramento.
Innovation from necessity
Cardenaz explained that the new technology for the saliva drug test grew from COVID-era testing difficulties.
“The inventor of this product, Raul Guirguis, wanted to invent a better way to do a COVID test, instead of just the traditional nasal pharyngeal, up your nose, which is a painful way to test for COVID.”
The solution was to invent a mouth rinse to excite saliva production and chemically separate the virus markers from the rest of the excretion. After the pandemic passed, Guirguis applied the new technology to drug testing.
“Saliva tests are better than urine testing for a lot of reasons,” Cardenaz said. “Its results are comparable to a blood test.”
Changing the market
According to Cardenaz one of the big advantages of the new product is speed and supervision. The sample can be taken in about a minute or two, right in front of a staff member.
“Super fast, super effective,” he said. “It is directly observed, and doesn’t have to happen in a bathroom stall.”
Oratek Diagnostics has a few different versions of the test. One version is meant to be sent to a lab for a full test. Another version gives a quick “first look” result. A third version does both: it gives a quick result and also collects a sample that can be mailed to a lab.
He said this matters because quick tests are not perfect. They can show an early result, but a lab test is what confirms the final answer. In some medical settings, he said the rules require that lab confirmation happen no matter what the quick test shows.
Cardenaz said one of the best fits for saliva testing is addiction treatment programs—especially places where patients are tested often. Saliva testing is simpler for staff and less invasive for patients than urine testing.
Cardenaz also mentioned that the company is trying to grow quickly and hire more people. Over the next year, he said the goal is to add dozens of sales reps, including people who can do phone outreach and people who can travel.
He said he wants to build a strong sales opportunity in Rexburg and connect with BYU-Idaho’s sales community.
“I want to have a legitimate sales opportunity in Rexburg,” he said. He added that people could train in Rexburg but eventually work from anywhere.”
You can find out more about Oratek Diagnostics and sales opportunities here.