Headquarters Abingdon, United Kingdom Founded 1987 | Founder Trevor Martin Twose Parent organizations LabCorp, Cellmark | |
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Subsidiaries Cellmark, Strand Analytical Laboratories, LLC, Private | ||
Orchid Cellmark is the world's largest private DNA testing firm. They have laboratories in Germantown, Maryland; Dallas, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Britain.
The company was established in 1987. It was the first private company to licence the DNA Fingerprinting technology from Alec Jeffreys and the University of Leicester. The company participated in the consultation process which led to the establishment of the Department of Health's voluntary code of practice on genetic paternity testing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The company undertakes DNA testing on behalf of the CSA and the UK Visas and Immigration scheme.
In February 2007, the company's location in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire was targeted as part of the Miles Cooper letter bomb campaign. One person, a pregnant receptionist, was injured.
In 2004, in the US, the company was accused of manipulating results electronically.
Orchid BioSciences Inc. in Princeton, New Jersey is Orchid Cellmark's parent company, As of November 2004.
In December 2011, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LabCorp) completed the acquisition of Orchid Cellmark Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary, OCM Acquisition Corp. It is now, in the United States, called Cellmark Forensics, Inc.