RALEIGH — It’s shaped like a quarter coin. It can easily fit into your back pocket, or be discreetly clipped onto your key chain, or the back of your smartphone.

If necessary, it can also be the first line of defense against sexual assault.

Enter Undercover Colors’ (UC) new drug-detecting disk — a portable and quick test that can reveal if a drink has been spiked with common date rape drugs like “Roofies” and Xanax, in as little as 30 seconds.

“It’s really the next generation of this technology,”

Nick Letourneau, UC’s director or research and development, told WRAL TechWire. “What would typically only work in a single liquid – like blood, saliva or urine – we’ve now created a system that works in over 100 liquids.”

Nick Letourneau, UC’s director or research and development.

The Raleigh startup recently launched its product using lateral flow technology that, up until now, has most commonly been used to test for pregnancy and HIV.

Four years in the making, the company initially made headlines when it announced plans to develop a prototype using nail polish. But in the end, it scrapped the idea in favor of its current format that appeals to both sexes, and places less of the burden of safety on women.

“We listened to our consumers all the way through,” says Barbara Cook, UC’s chief executive. “As we worked with focus groups, the response has been consistent: guys have got as awful stories as the women. We know that gender neutrality is important, and that’s certainly part of the reason we have the product that we have today.”

With two patents in the U.S., its miniaturized test strip is now believed to be the smallest form factor in the world.

A widespread problem

Drug-facilitated sexual assault, or sexual assault without consent while incapacitated, is quickly becoming a widespread problem across college campuses, bars and nightclubs.

More than one in 13 students reported being drugged and 1.4 percent reported incidents of drugging someone, according to a 2016 study in the Psychology of Violence Journal.

Men aren’t immune, either. A separate study by PLOS also cited that as much as 12.5 percent of college undergraduate men have reported sexual assault.

“While we know the UC test doesn’t solve the issue of sexual assault, we feel strongly that our science is a tool that can be used to promote safety,” Cook says.

Barbara Cook, UC’s chief executive.

A discreet test

The single-use test is simple: peel back a foil cover to reveal a test “window”, then place a drop of the beverage using one’s finger to the designated area.

Two pink lines indicate the beverage is safe, and one pink line indicates the drug has been detected.

One advantage, says Letourneau, is that the test uses platform technology, which allows the company to add more classes of drugs as necessary.

“Right now, the most commonly used date rate drugs are benzodiazepines. But if tomorrow, it’s ketamine, we have the ability to switch that out.”

And while the company is focusing on its current product, its technology could also have other applications, he believes.

“This could be used [in disaster areas] for testing water quality or infectious diseases. The ideas are limitless,” he says. “We will be examining the veterinary and medical spaces for the optimal target.

Homegrown startup

It all began back in 2014 with UC’s co-founders Stephen Gray and Tyler Confrey-Maloney, former NC State students, who hatched the idea based on their “personal experiences”.

Since then, the startup has raised around $12 million in seed money from 97 investors, mostly from North Carolina.

More recently, after getting its start at North Carolina State University’s incubator labs, it moved into more permanent digs in the Research Triangle Park in March. It currently has eight employees.

For now, the company has launched directly to consumers through its website, but there’s talk of partnering with universities and nonprofits.

The starter kit retails for around $35 and includes five single-use tests and four free carriers – two key fobs and two adhesive holders.