Tepnel buys Orchid Biosciences

NEW YORK (AFX) -- Shares of Orchid Biosciences were posting a 32 percent
gain in Instinet pre-open trading after CEO Paul J. Kelly said the increasing
demand for DNA tests for animal food traceability programs could generate "very
large ongoing testing volumes." Orchid Biosciences is one of the leading
providers of diagnostic tests for scrapie, the mad-cow like disease which
affects sheep. Under new European Union rules, all member countries must
implement a scrapie susceptibility program in 2004. Orchid Biosciences, which
has a large testing facility in the UK, said it is ideally placed to take
advantage of the new EU directive. "With an estimated sheep population of 40
million in the UK, the potential for continued growth in Orchid's testing
volumes is strong," the company said in a statement. Orchid Biosciences closed
down a penny at $1.42 in Tuesday trading.
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