Sorenson moves DNA testing division to Utah

Sorenson Genomics said Monday that it plans to relocate its subsidiary DNA testing division from Houston to the company's recently expanded genetics laboratory in Salt Lake City.

The consolidation move is designed to help keep pace with the growing demand for DNA testing, the Salt Lake-based genetics company said in a news release.

The Identigene laboratory in Houston will be closed, and about 25 percent of Identigene's 40-person Texas work force will be employed at the Salt Lake laboratory, said Sorenson Genomics chief operating officer Douglas Fogg. The remaining employees will receive severance packages and job-placement assistance.

Identigene's core team will merge into the Sorenson Forensics business unit, already located in Salt Lake City, Fogg said. Those considered for relocation will be technical staff with heavy forensic-science expertise.

"We feel we can better serve the forensic community if we consolidate the two teams into a single environment," Fogg said.

Sorenson Genomics' Salt Lake laboratory recently increased its work force by 25 percent and invested millions of dollars in advanced equipment to boost its DNA testing capacity five-fold. The facility is one of the first genetics laboratories to fully automate its paternity testing process, the news release said.

Last month, Identigene introduced an over-the-counter DNA Paternity Test kit that now is for sale at Rite Aid drug stores across the nation.

Other DNA testing for paternity and family relatedness will continue to be done under the name of Sorenson Genomics' Identigene business unit, while forensic DNA casework will now be done under the Sorenson Forensics name, Fogg said.

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