Orchid Awarded Immigration Identity Testing Contract by New Zealand Government

Orchid Awarded Immigration Identity Testing Contract by New
Zealand Government
Further Expands Orchid's International Immigration Testing Services 


PRINCETON, N.J. and ABINGDON, England, April 13  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Orchid BioSciences, Inc.  today announced that its Orchid Europe operation has
been awarded an exclusive DNA analysis contract by the New Zealand Immigration
Service.  Orchid will provide DNA testing services to individuals seeking to
migrate to New Zealand, when they cannot establish their identities and
biological relationships by conventional means.  This three-year contract was
awarded to Orchid following a competitive bid process and is potentially
renewable for an additional two years.  Further details were not disclosed.

"It is critical that an approved and reliable system of DNA analysis be
available to assist residence applicants where documentation to establish the
necessary relationships between themselves and their sponsors does not exist or
isunreliable," said Gill Johnson of the New Zealand Immigration Service. "We
believe Orchid can deliver what we require and we are looking forward to working
with them."

Orchid, which markets several of its services under the Cellmark brand, will
provide DNA testing services under the contract to determine the biological
relationships between applicants and their family members, including sponsors in
New Zealand.  Like most countries, New Zealand allows immigration of certain
relatives of its citizensand permanent residents.  DNA testing is particularly
important for applicants from countries that do not have records systems that
enable applicants to otherwise satisfy the New Zealand Immigration Service of
the necessary family relationships.

"DNA relationship analysis is increasingly being used as part of government
immigration programs and often requires the complex analysis that we specialize
in," said David Hartshorne, commercial director of Orchid Europe.  "Orchid has
an established reputation for quality and accurate testing and is at the
forefront of developing new technologies and services to assess claimed
relationships.  We are delighted to be the provider of choice for the New
Zealand Immigration Service."

In addition to this contract with the New Zealand Immigration Service, Orchid is
also the exclusive provider of immigration DNA testing for the UK government's
UKVisa's program, and the sole supplier to the Norwegian government's
immigration department.  Work under this contractwill be provided at Orchid's
Abingdon facility in the U.K.

About Orchid BioSciences Europe

Orchid BioSciences Europe is a leading provider of forensic DNA analysis,
paternity and relationship testing, and food and animal genotyping services in
Europe.  Orchid established its European headquarters in 2001 through the
acquisition of U.K.-based Cellmark Diagnostics, one of the world's first
commercial DNA testing laboratories.  In addition to being one of the largest
providers of paternity testing services in Europe, Orchid Europe 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 BioSciences Europe
can be found at http://www.orchideurope.com/.

About Orchid BioSciences, Inc.

Orchid BioSciences is the leading provider of identity genomics services for the
forensic and paternity DNA testing markets and for public health and animal DNA
testing for food safety.  Orchid's market leading positions in these segments
leverage the Company's accredited laboratories in the U.S. and U.K., its
innovative genetic analysis technologies and expertise, and the
internationally-known Cellmark and GeneScreen brands that have been associated
with exceptional quality, reliability, innovation and customer service for
nearly two decades.  More information on Orchid can be found at
http://www.orchid.com/. 

DATASOURCE: Orchid BioSciences, Inc.



CONTACT:  Tracy J. Henrikson, Executive Director, Corporate

Communications of Orchid BioSciences, Inc., [phone]; or David

Hartshorne, Commercial Director of Orchid BioSciences Europe,

[phone]



Web site:  http://www.orchid.com/

http://www.orchideurope.com/ 

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