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PRINCETON, N.J., July 30, 2003 – Orchid Cellmark, Inc. (Nasdaq:
ORCH) today announced that it has been selected as the recipient of Frost
& Sullivan’s 2003 Service Quality Leadership Award for its achievements
in 2002 in growing revenues, focusing and restructuring its business and
penetrating new markets.
Frost & Sullivan’s prestigious Service Quality Leadership Award
is presented each year to the company in its sector that has achieved
the most significant gains in market share. Frost & Sullivan cited
Orchid’s 2001 acquisitions of Lifecodes and U.K.-based Cellmark Diagnostics
as a catalyst enabling Orchid to establish market leadership in the growing
segments of forensic and paternity testing and globally expanding its
customer base. Another area where Orchid is building market leadership
is in the growing field of public health DNA testing for food safety,
where in 2002 Orchid expanded its pioneering work to provide high throughput
testing services to help British farmers breed sheep with reduced susceptibility
to the prion disease scrapie, which is similar to mad cow disease and
therefore a potential threat to the food supply. Also noted was Orchid’s
success in restructuring its business to focus on its DNA testing service
businesses in high growth markets while divesting its lower growth, investment-intensive
SNP genotyping and diagnostic instrumentation businesses.
"Orchid Cellmark’ strong growth in 2002 reflects its strategic
decision to focus on opportunities in DNA diversity testing and analysis,
which offer significant opportunities for strong financial returns,"
said Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Sinead Igoe. "Growth has
continued into 2003 as a result of Orchid's continued progress in leveraging
its market strength and innovative technology to build share in high potential
commercial segments."
Orchid’s application of its proprietary single nucleotide polymorphism,
or SNP technology throughout its businesses to achieve competitive advantage
was cited as an example of how the company is building upon its technology
strength and its market leading position. Last year, Orchid successfully
adapted this technology for use in forensic DNA analysis of degraded samples
to identify victims of the World Trade Center disaster in cases where
traditional methods had failed to produce reliable results. Recently,
Orchid was the first company to receive approval by the American Association
of Blood Banks to use SNPs as a primary marker for paternity testing,
a more efficient and cost effective replacement for the commonly used
STR technique. "These initiatives illustrate the innovation and leadership
qualities exhibited by Orchid," Igoe added. "The transformation
of established DNA testing markets with Orchid’s SNP technology should
result in better service for customers and greater growth and profitability
for Orchid Cellmark."
"We are honored to accept Frost & Sullivan’s recognition
of Orchid’s accomplishments to date in reinforcing our leadership
position in DNA testing services, as well as of the positive strategic,
operational and financial progress we have made," said Paul J. Kelly,
M.D., chief executive officer of Orchid. "This award also is an independent
validation of the hard work of our exceptional staff over the past years
to build our strong reputation for providing the highest quality DNA testing
services available worldwide. We look forward to strengthening our legacy
of paramount customer service and innovation as we continue to grow our
business and strive to achieve profitability."
Orchid was presented the award on the basis of interviews with customers,
industry experts, and other industry participants as well as extensive
secondary data research. Among the additional criteria considered by Frost
& Sullivan in selecting Orchid for this award were: percent growth
in revenue; degree of strategy innovation; successful alliances, mergers,
and acquisitions; market share growth; mind share growth; correlation
between revenues and investment; penetration rate of new markets; and
organizational restructuring.
About Orchid Cellmark Europe
Orchid Cellmark offers DNA testing services to verify relationships for
a variety of applications and is one of the largest providers of paternity
testing services in Europe. It is a leading supplier of forensic DNA profiling
for criminal investigation, a rapidly growing area in which the U.K. is
a world leader. It is also the major supplier of genotyping services to
the U.K. Government’s National Scrapie Plan, delivering high throughput
DNA testing services to help British farmers breed sheep with reduced
susceptibility to this prion disease. More information about the range
of DNA testing services and products available from Orchid Cellmark Europe
can be found awww.orchideurope.com.
All statements in this press release that are not historical
are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act as amended, including statements
regarding the fact that immigration related genetic testing is
a rapidly growing global market. Such statements are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected, including, but not limited to,
uncertainties relating to technologies, product development, manufacturing,
market acceptance, cost and pricing of Orchid products and services,
dependence on collaborations and partners, regulatory approvals,
competition, intellectual property of others, patent protection,
litigation, Orchid’s ability to obtain additional financing
and Orchid’s listing on the Nasdaq National Market. These
risks and other additional factors affecting Orchid’s business
are discussed under the headings "Risks Related to Our Business,"
"Risks Related to the Biotechnology Industry" and "Risks
Associated with Our Common Stock" in Orchid’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, and
Orchid’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 and the prospectus
contained therein dated June 6, 2003, each as filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, and in other filings made by Orchid with
the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Orchid
expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly
any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained
herein to reflect any change in Orchid’s expectations with
regard thereto or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances
on which any such statements are based, except as may be required
by law.
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