DNAPrint Genomics Inc. (DNAP) Presents Forensics Discoveries; New Products Could Transform The Landscape Of DNA Testing
SARASOTA, Fla., June 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DNAPrint genomics, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DNAP) today announced recent discoveries that pave the way for the Company's second and third forensics products. In a presentation at CHI's 5th annual "DNA Forensics" meeting in Washington D.C., CEO Dr. Tony Frudakis announced that the Company has filed patent applications on several regions of the human genome unusually useful for the inference of ancestry proportions, and others that permit the determination of natural hair color from DNA.
Dr. Frudakis described two tests that are being developed from these discoveries. DNAPrint's new ancestry kit (ANCESTRY) is projected to be the first for forensics scientists to infer the individual ancestry proportions, called admixture ratios, from nuclear DNA. Most human beings are a mosaic of various ancestries, yet existing tests used for human identity testing cannot discern admixture proportions. Further, these existing methods suffer from statistical, practical and ethical problems because they use overly complex markers (STRs) to rigidly "bin" or shoe-horn individuals into single racial groups. ANCESTRY is expected to be the first test capable of plotting where an individual resides along a multi-dimensional continuum of ancestry (for example, 60% African and 40% Caucasian ancestry or 90% African, 5% Caucasian and 5% Asian ancestry etc.), and in so doing, could allow forensics scientists to construct a more accurate physical profile from DNA.
The second test, called RETINOME(TM)-HA, will represent the world's first accurate DNA test for hair color. The test is analogous to the company's previously announced test for iris color (RETINOME(TM)), yet the pigmentation gene marker sets for the two tests only partially overlap. "This makes sense because iris color and hair color are independently inherited," quoted Dr. Kondragunta Venketeswarlu, the Company's Vice-President. "As the first group to solve these traits for practical inference, DNAPrint is in a good strategic position. Because we have used a systematic process (Haploscope, patent pending) to screen through all of the pigmentation gene variants and variant combinations, it is unlikely that redundant or competing pigmentation patent applications would be approved in the future." Dr. Frudakis projected that ANCESTRY will join the Company's eye color test (RETINOME(TM)) in beta trials by year's end, while RETINOME(TM)-HA is expected to begin beta trials early 2003.
In addition to these announcements, Dr. Frudakis revealed DNAPrint's strategy for positioning its products in the forensics space. "The Forensics Index of the FBI's CODIS database is a collection of physically uninformative numbers useful for only matching samples with individuals. By adding genetically inferred eye color, hair color and admixture ratios to STR profiles in the Forensics Index of CODIS, DNAPrint could essentially provide the drivers license for each perpetrator, minus the name," said Dr. Frudakis. "Most crime scene investigators would give their left arms to have a witness for certain crimes, and their departments spend untold hours and dollars attempting to locate and interview witnesses that, in the end, may not be telling the truth. In many respects, our tests will serve as an eye-witness for every crime scene where DNA was left, but they will be more reliable because they are based on objective science not biased human experience." The Company intends that its innovative products not be used or viewed as luxuries for use in rare cases, but used as routine companions to current STR tests. He continued, "The inferences obtained with our products should be integrated with the Forensics Index of CODIS so law enforcement agents can do their jobs more efficiently and economically." Last February, the company solicited the US National Institutes of Justice (NIJ) for grant provisions aimed at expanding the scope of the RETINOME(TM) and ANCESTRY tests for use in this way, as well as for the US-led war on international terrorism.
Related to the ANCESTRY announcement, Dr. Frudakis also announced that the Company has added Dr. Mark Shriver of The Pennsylvania State University to its Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Consultants. Dr. Shriver is a world- renowned expert on Admixture and Human Molecular Anthropology and in 1997 he authored the world's first published method for using STR tests to infer ancestry. Dr. Shriver will help the Company refine and support algorithms for the determination of admixture proportions from ANCESTRY read-outs. In addition to forensics, Dr. Shriver will help ANCESTRY penetrate a "recreational" consumer genomics market. For example, the test could be attractive for adoptees who desire to learn about their heritage, or for genealogists who desire to learn more about ambiguous regions of their family tree. By allowing for the inference of precise ancestral mixture, ANCESTRY could help dispel the entire notion of "race" as we know it today and force governing bodies to re-think policies based on the classification of individuals into rigidly defined racial groups.
RETINOME(TM) and RETINOME(TM)-HA are expected to enjoy exclusive niches in the forensics DNA testing market, currently valued at about $30 million. ANCESTRY is expected to enjoy a similar forensics market, but the general consumer genomics market for this product could significantly exceed this.
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