Synergene Technologies Ltd has been awarded ISO 17025 accreditation by the International Standards Organisation through the Malta Standards Authority's National Accreditation Body.
Synergene is Malta's first DNA forensic laboratory to be awarded this prestigious international accreditation; ISO 17025 is the highest accreditation that European laboratories are able to achieve due to its exacting standards.
There are few accredited laboratories across Europe, particularly in the molecular genetics field; accreditation takes several years so high are the standards required. Synergene's successful accreditation process was managed and supervised by the company's group quality manager Jonathan Farrugia.
Synergene Technologies forms part of the Synergene Biotechnology Group. It was incorporated by a group of international venture capitalists with strong experience in biotechnology and is guided by an international panel of scientists and geneticists. It has been operating in Malta since 2000 and specialises in state-of-the-art DNA profiling and testing, DNA forensics, paternity testing, and research and development in gene target discovery.
Rod Cake, co-founder and CEO for Synergene Biotechnology Group, said: "Achieving accreditation from the NAB-MSA means that the laboratory has achieved a prescribed level of technical competence to perform specific types of testing, measurement and calibration activities. The result is assurance that the laboratory is capable of producing data that is accurate, tracable and reproducible."
Dr Marios Kambouris, associate professor at the Department of Genetics, Yale University School of Medicine and scientific director for Synergene, remarked: "For the first time, Malta has a state-of-the- art, accredited DNA forensic laboratory manned by a team of local and international scientists."
On a practical level, Synergene's ISO 17025 accreditation also means that the Law Courts and the police will no longer be constrained to send samples abroad for analysis in the UK or Europe. Providing the services from Malta will result in considerable savings in both cost and turnaround times.
"We will also be pushing to make Malta an international forensic testing centre, receiving samples from abroad where there are severe backlogs in processing DNA evidence," Dr Kambouris added.
Synergene sales and marketing executive Owen Micallef pointed out that only three laboratories in England hold ISO17025 accreditation for DNA forensics testing. Germany has only two such labs and France, Poland, Portugal and Italy have none. He added that the company planned to present its forensic testing portfolio to the international market with faster turnaround times and a competitive pricing structure.
Founding director Mamie Pace said the accreditation had been the group's prime objective from the initial set-up phase and now placed Synergene in line for further objectives, including the establishment of additional laboratories overseas and eventual stock market listing.
Synergene Technologies Ltd's ISO 17025 assessment was conducted by Claudio Boffa, head of NAB-MSA, Jason Aquilina, accreditation officer at the NAB-MSA, and Steve Jones, quality manager at the London headquarters of the UK Forensic Science Service.