Orchid Awarded Immigration Identity Testing Contract by New Zealand Government Further Expands Orchid's International Immigration Testing Services PRINCETON, N.J. and ABINGDON, England, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Orchid BioSciences, Inc. today announced that its Orchid Europe operation has been awarded an exclusive DNA analysis contract by the New Zealand Immigration Service. Orchid will provide DNA testing services to individuals seeking to migrate to New Zealand, when they cannot establish their identities and biological relationships by conventional means. This three-year contract was awarded to Orchid following a competitive bid process and is potentially renewable for an additional two years. Further details were not disclosed. "It is critical that an approved and reliable system of DNA analysis be available to assist residence applicants where documentation to establish the necessary relationships between themselves and their sponsors does not exist or isunreliable," said Gill Johnson of the New Zealand Immigration Service. "We believe Orchid can deliver what we require and we are looking forward to working with them." Orchid, which markets several of its services under the Cellmark brand, will provide DNA testing services under the contract to determine the biological relationships between applicants and their family members, including sponsors in New Zealand. Like most countries, New Zealand allows immigration of certain relatives of its citizensand permanent residents. DNA testing is particularly important for applicants from countries that do not have records systems that enable applicants to otherwise satisfy the New Zealand Immigration Service of the necessary family relationships. "DNA relationship analysis is increasingly being used as part of government immigration programs and often requires the complex analysis that we specialize in," said David Hartshorne, commercial director of Orchid Europe. "Orchid has an established reputation for quality and accurate testing and is at the forefront of developing new technologies and services to assess claimed relationships. We are delighted to be the provider of choice for the New Zealand Immigration Service." In addition to this contract with the New Zealand Immigration Service, Orchid is also the exclusive provider of immigration DNA testing for the UK government's UKVisa's program, and the sole supplier to the Norwegian government's immigration department. Work under this contractwill be provided at Orchid's Abingdon facility in the U.K. About Orchid BioSciences Europe Orchid BioSciences Europe is a leading provider of forensic DNA analysis, paternity and relationship testing, and food and animal genotyping services in Europe. Orchid established its European headquarters in 2001 through the acquisition of U.K.-based Cellmark Diagnostics, one of the world's first commercial DNA testing laboratories. In addition to being one of the largest providers of paternity testing services in Europe, Orchid Europe is a leading supplier of forensic DNA profiling for criminal investigation, a rapidly growing area in which the U.K. is a world leader. It is also the major supplier of genotyping services to the U.K. Government's National Scrapie Plan, delivering high throughput DNA testing services to help British farmers breed sheep with reduced susceptibility to this prion disease. More information about the range of DNA testing services and products available from Orchid BioSciences Europe can be found at http://www.orchideurope.com/. About Orchid BioSciences, Inc. Orchid BioSciences is the leading provider of identity genomics services for the forensic and paternity DNA testing markets and for public health and animal DNA testing for food safety. Orchid's market leading positions in these segments leverage the Company's accredited laboratories in the U.S. and U.K., its innovative genetic analysis technologies and expertise, and the internationally-known Cellmark and GeneScreen brands that have been associated with exceptional quality, reliability, innovation and customer service for nearly two decades. More information on Orchid can be found at http://www.orchid.com/. DATASOURCE: Orchid BioSciences, Inc. CONTACT: Tracy J. Henrikson, Executive Director, Corporate Communications of Orchid BioSciences, Inc., +1-609-750-2221; or David Hartshorne, Commercial Director of Orchid BioSciences Europe, +44-1235-552-307 Web site: http://www.orchid.com/ http://www.orchideurope.com/

Copyright