Liverpool-founded AlphaBiolabs wins 4-year contract for Liverpool City Region drug and alcohol testing

AlphaBiolabs has been awarded the contract to provide drug and alcohol testing services for six local authorities in the Liverpool City Region (LCR), following a rigorous competitive tender process.

Under the four-year contract – beginning on 1 August and worth approximately £2m – AlphaBiolabs will provide all legally-defensible drug and alcohol testing in support of Family Court proceedings across Liverpool City Council (lead authority), Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, and Wirral, including sample collection and back-to-lab analysis.

One of the UK’s leading drug, alcohol, DNA and health testing laboratories, AlphaBiolabs – which opened its first laboratory at the MerseyBIO Incubator in Liverpool in 2004 – owns and operates purpose-built toxicology and genetics laboratories from its headquarters in Warrington, Cheshire, and has extensive experience working with Family Courts and local authorities across the country, including Warrington Borough Council, and Cheshire West and Chester.

The Warrington lab’s proximity to the LCR authorities also means samples can be processed quickly, ensuring drug and alcohol test results are delivered even faster – a crucial factor for Family Court proceedings.

Rachel Davenport, Director and Co-founder at AlphaBiolabs, said: “As a Liverpool-founded business, this contract win is especially meaningful for us. Many of our employees live locally and we feel privileged to be able to deliver services that directly support social workers and families within our own communities.

“Our in-depth knowledge of the challenges facing local authorities, particularly when it comes to making time-critical safeguarding decisions, stems from over 20 years’ experience working with authorities across the country. We know all too well the sensitivities involved and will work hard to deliver the highest possible standard of service for the people of Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, St Helens, Knowsley and Halton, over the next four years.”

AlphaBiolabs is one of the UK’s leading providers of drug, alcohol and DNA testing services for members of the public, the legal sector, social workers, and the workplace.

It also operates 21 walk-in centres across the UK and Ireland – including a location on Rodney Street in Liverpool City Centre – providing on-site sample collection appointments for drug, alcohol and DNA tests. 

Notes to editors

Founded in 2004, and headquartered in Warrington, Cheshire, AlphaBiolabs is the UK’s leading laboratory, employing cutting-edge techniques to provide timely, accurate, and cost-efficient DNA, drug, alcohol and health testing to meet a range of needs.

Its customer base spans the public, family and immigration solicitors, social services, local authorities, businesses, academic institutions and even the media.

It also operates a UK-wide network of sample collectors, available to collect samples 24/7, 365 days of the year, and is the ONLY UK lab to operate a nationwide network of walk-in centres (21 locations across the UK and Ireland) where samples can be collected for DNA, drug and alcohol testing.