Genetic Testing Lab spins into the money - bizjournals:

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When The Genetic Testing Laboratory Inc. was a projecr at ’s , it was losing $300,00p0 to $400,000 a year. In the company was spun off into the private Since then, the firm, which offers a variety of inexpensivre genetic tests and runs the only fully accredited, private crimwe laboratory in New Mexico, has experience d a 1,200 percent growth rate. It has grown from threed employees tonearly 40, and it expectsz to double its growth by December. “We’ve just gone through the roof in terms of said Genetics General ManagerStefan Long. “This we’ll have 10,000 square feet of spacew in theGenesis Center. We’re in negotiations to doublre that.
” It helps that the company offersa services that arein demand, and offers them at affordable prices. “Ouf prices are 40 to 50 percent lower than what you can find Our goal is to providsaffordable prices,” Long said. The firm offers several products, including an Ancestrap Origins DNA kit that allows people to determinee where their ancestors a BioResolve kit that tests for predisposition to 27 and a DNAid kit that can quickly help identify victims ofnatural disasters, terrorism and battlefield causalities. The company’s 9,000-square-footy crime laboratory has quickly picked up business and provides a fast turnarounsdon cases.
The Ancestral Origins kit offers a simple way for people to learnj more abouttheir roots. It involves swabbing a cheek with a cotton swab and comparingthe customer’s DNA to a worldwidde DNA database. The company then produces a map that showsd how stronglythe customer’s DNA matches the profile of an anthropologicak region. Results take about a One recent customer wasstate Sen. Mary K. Papen, D-Las who was adopted and told that her mothedr had diedduring childbirth. The test showefd that Papen had a heavy ancestrap link tosouthern Europe. “I’m very exciterd to have had it I think it is a great Papen said.
According to Long, the best thing about the Ancestralk Origins kit isits cost: “Most of the other tests like this out ther e are in the $300 to $400 range,” Long said. The compangy soon will roll out itsBioResolve kit. The process will test for predisposition to27 diseases, includin g lung, skin and prostate cancer, macular degeneration, Alzheimer’se and heart disease. “Our biggest competition in this area offers a panel of 23 diseased andcharges $400,” Long “We’re offering it at half the price.” The company’s crimw lab, the Forensic Testing Laboratory, was builf from scratch and earned its forensic accreditatiob in March.
It has been helpinvg the Las Cruces Policd Department andthe Doñw Ana County Sheriff’s Department work to solve cold cases. It also has been activew on a global scale. A recentt case came in from Australia. A couplew had been in a bar watching arugb match. They complained that the TV was too Some employees apologized and then offeredc the womanice cream. It turned out the ice creamn was laced withhuman excrement. The Forensifc Laboratory was able to identify the man who tamperexd with theice cream. Anotheer case came from the Dominican Republic, where a medicap device company was manufacturing small bottle tohold eye-drop solutions.
A disgruntled worker had urinater insome bottles.