KEY POINTS:
New Zealand biotechnology company Zygem will be introducing the world to new technology to speed up DNA testing, it announced yesterday.
Zygem was set up by technology investment company WaikatoLink in 2005 to commercialise DNA extraction and detection technology.
The company is based in New Zealand but has an American office, and sells the biotechnology developed by the University of Waikato and the University of Auckland to the billion-dollar global DNA technology market.
Paul Kinnon was appointed to the San Diego office late last year.
Zygem's sales over the next financial year are expected to hit close to $10 million.
Yesterday's announcement refers to an agreement between the company and WaikatoLink to distribute the university's latest DNA invention.
The nucleic acid sequestering technology removes unwanted DNA from the sample, giving more accurate analyses.
Its market opportunities include forensics, animal livestock genetic testing, biodefence, diagnostics and biofuels.
WaikatoLink's chief executive Mark Stuart said Zygem was the ideal distribution channel for the technology.
"This is an almost instantaneous product-to-market, they understand the market and the product and it fits right into their niche," Stuart said.
Coming from New Zealand was an advantage when competing in the international DNA technology market, Stuart said.
The cost of developing science in New Zealand was a lot lower than overseas, Stuart said.
And the enzymes used by Zygem were sourced from rare organisms unique to New Zealand and Antarctica.
Stuart said WaikatoLink took an entrepreneurial approach to its research. "We treat each new technology as a business opportunity very early on and we start engaging with our market to make sure our solution is actually useful."
WaikatoLink owns around 25 per cent of Zygem.
