ONDCP awarded ACMT a one-year cooperative agreement to expand surveillance efforts to identify emerging drugs, inform prevention, and guide policy.
PHOENIX, AZ, UNITED STATES, January 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — In September of 2025, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) awarded the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) Toxicology Investigators Consortium (ToxIC) a one-year cooperative agreement to expand surveillance efforts to identify emerging drugs, inform prevention, and guide evidence-based policy.
This cooperative agreement will be used to fund ToxIC’s Substance Checking and ANalysis of New and Evolving Drugs (SCANNED) Overdose Surveillance Program, the purpose of which is to advance the understanding of drug use patterns of patients that present to emergency departments and compare these findings with illicit substances in the drug supply.
The U.S. illicit drug supply is rapidly evolving and increasingly characterized by polydrug combinations that contribute to unprecedented overdose mortality, with more than 80,000 deaths in 2024. While opioids remain central to the crisis, stimulants, novel psychoactive substances, and adulterants, such as xylazine, are commonly co-consumed or unknowingly utilized. By leveraging multiple data sources, this project will evaluate drug patterns identified in biological specimens collected from emergency department patients and compare these findings with substances found in drug material and drug fatality data.
“The drug supply is changing faster than we’ve ever seen, and it’s putting patients at tremendous risk. ACMT and the ToxIC network are uniquely positioned for this work because our physicians are on the front lines treating these patients every day.” says Dr. Paul Wax, FACMT, Executive Director of ACMT.
The American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) is a professional, nonprofit association of physicians with recognized expertise and board certification in medical toxicology. Medical toxicology physicians 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 led by medical toxicology physicians that detects new drugs of abuse, monitors adverse effects of post-marketing medications, and identifies emerging toxicological threats.
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