Commonwealth Biotechnologies Inc., a provider of outsourced biotech research services, is collaborating with ZyGEM Corp. Ltd. to develop new markets for the New Zealand company’s DNA extraction technology.

CBI is integrating ZyGEM's forensicGEM kits into its Fairfax Identity Laboratories DNA reference operations. A leader in the use of advanced forensic procedures, Fairfax Identity Laboratories analyze over 50,000 forensic samples each year while also developing enhanced forensic testing procedures.

"We are very pleased with the performance to date of ZyGEM's unique nucleic acid extraction technology and expect that it will continue to provide us with improvements in turnaround, efficiency and cost, especially for our growing volume of CODIS sample processing," said Thomas R. Reynolds, CBI’s executive vice president of science and technology. "We also look forward to combining our complementary expertise to develop additional new products for improved DNA forensic processing."

The forensicGEM family of kits uses a proprietary enzyme to extract DNA from samples using a single closed-tube system. The technique simplifies laboratory workflow, minimizes error, reduces the risk of contamination and ensures sample integrity while also reducing costs. The kits are easy to automate for high-throughput applications using off-the-shelf robotic systems. More.