DNA testing in record time

Determining paternity in record time is the focus of startup Ardmore Biological Analysis.

As a DNA typing firm, ABA is one of two in Oklahoma among 44 nationwide. Getting test results back in 48 hours breaks it from the pack.

"When people want to know, they want to know pretty quick," notes Chief Financial Officer Anna Flatt. "That's more important than you think. "We have record-breaking turnaround time, the fastest in the industry." Five owners pooled their resources to launch ABA from a 1,500- square-foot office in May. With a loan from Rural Enterprises of Durant, ABA leased a PE Applied Biosystems 310 Genetic Analyzer. After recording sales of $22,000 last year, the company expects to reach $500,000 revenue and profitability this year. "We started on a shoestring and it's been really tight, but the business has been steadily increasing and we're excited about the future," says Flatt. ABA offers a wide variety of DNA identification services, from the typical -- like Child Tracer DNA ID Kits, criminal forensics and expert witness testimony -- to the unexpected. Seeking a unique birthday gift? Try the Personal DNA Fingerprint, which proves the recipient is more than one in a million -- try one out of 750 billion. "ABA approaches the business of DNA testing with the understanding that their services have a profound effect on peoples' lives," says Roger O. Langland, the manufacturing extension agent with the Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence. "They seek to continuously translate new technologies of DNA typing into commercially salable products and services." The firm's bread and butter remains the paternity test. While it offers services for animals, such as sire determination for cattle, roughly 75 percent of ABA's cases involve people -- for child support, visitation or custody, inheritance, adoption and other needs. "We're more than doubling our growth every month," notes Flatt. The firm now handles about 15 samples a month, spurring ABA to soon increase its Ardmore staff from two to three. Its fees range from $3 for the children's kit to $595 for a standard three-party paternity test. Within five years, the company hopes to reach 4,800 human paternity tests a year, along with annual sales of 2 million children's kits. The latter goal should get a huge boost in May, when ABA launches a national pilot program with Wal-Mart. The company was born from the owners' ties to the Samuel Robert Noble Foundation in Ardmore. Dr. Brent Edington, formerly of the foundation, is the ABA's chief executive officer. He works out of Boulder, Colo., staying in daily contact with the Ardmore operations via telephone. Dr. Brandt Cassidy, the chief scientific officer, and Flatt have manned the Ardmore office from Day One, working without pay as the company grew. They will soon be joined by Lindle K. Flatt Jr., who will leave the foundation to take up his chief operating officer post full-time. Dr. Robert Gonzales, the firm's president, remains on staff with the foundation. He serves ABA daily in an advisory role. Some might question launching such a firm from Ardmore instead of Oklahoma City. Anna doesn't. "In this business, it's just as easy to do a sample from Maine as it is from Oklahoma City," she says. "With UPS and companies around the nation that help us to do collections, we can reach anywhere."

Copyright 1999
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.