Lab steps up international operations after launch of pre-natal testing

Warrington-based AlphaBiolabs has begun exporting to 16 countries across six continents as overseas sales surge following the launch of pre-natal paternity testing at its laboratory.

The company has recruited business partners in North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australasia, as well as Europe, over the past six months.

Its success follows the in-house launch of non-invasive pre-natal paternity testing last Spring, when the company became the first lab in Europe to offer the service.

The test determines paternity from as little as five weeks after conception.

The DNA of the adults is obtained via a blood sample from the mother and a mouth swab sample from the man. The unborn baby’s DNA is obtained from the mother’s bloodstream.

The samples are analysed using new-generation sequencing technology and instrumentation which amplifies the visibility of DNA segments for analysis.

This enables scientists at AlphaBiolabs to determine whether the unborn baby shares the man’s DNA.

If the man is the child’s biological father, they will share identical sections of DNA at each marker. When the tested man is not the biological father, there will be differences between his DNA and that of the unborn baby.

AlphaBiolabs invested £400,000 in additional equipment to conduct the tests in-house.

Since the service was introduced, AlphaBiolabs has signed up partners to sell its pre-natal paternity test in 16 countries and many have opted to send all their relationship DNA lab testing to the company as well.

It has led to three new roles in Warrington to support the international work and the company is currently recruiting for four more new positions. These include international account managers and laboratory analysts.

Managing director, David Thomas, said: “As a result of launching non-invasive pre-natal paternity testing in-house, we have experienced increased revenue from exports and are continuing to expand the team to support this growth.

“We are one of only a few companies worldwide to offer this test and we are happy to be supporting our international partners with a rapid turnaround service at cost-effective prices from our award-winning lab.

“Following the launch, quite a number of our partners have decided to send a range of different samples for testing to take advantage of our next-day turnaround times, and we expect the growth of our international network to continue.

“This expansion, in particular beyond Europe, gives us the confidence that, despite wider uncertainty relating to Brexit we will continue to thrive in new markets by pushing on with innovative additions to our range of services in the months and years ahead.”

In addition to its UK operations, AlphaBiolabs, which now has more than 60 staff, has offices in Dublin and in the United States. It is now providing testing services to customers in 47 US states, with sales growing month-on-month.