Genomics player Equinome to double employment and expand overseas
Dr Emmaline Hill, co-founder, Equinome

Genomics player Equinome to double employment and expand overseas

1 Dec 2014

Irish equine genomics company Equinome has revealed it plans to double employment from 10 to 20 people and expand into the US.

The company, whose co-founder Dr Emmeline Hill has been presented with the 2014 NovaUCD Innovation Award, is opening an office in the US next year and has six new DNA-related tests in development which it intends to launch over the coming 24 months.

The company, which is headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs and with a sales office in Australia, is also planning to double its workforce to 20 in the next 12 months.

These plans are to support the rapid adoption of Equinome’s genetic tests by racehorse owners and breeders around the world.

Equinome, a UCD spin-out company, was co-founded in 2009 by Dr Hill in partnership with Jim Bolger the renowned Irish trainer and breeder.

Passing the winning post

Professor Andrew J. Deeks, UCD President said: “The 2014 NovaUCD Innovation Award was presented to Dr Hill in recognition of the successes she has achieve to date through the quality and impact of her research and through the impact of Equinome in the Thoroughbred industry in Ireland and internationally.”

“Equinome, established to commercialise world-class UCD research outputs, is an excellent example of a UCD spin-out company with global reach and sales. While only established in 2010 Equinome has already significantly changed breeding techniques in the global Thoroughbred industry which had until then remained unchanged for hundreds of years.”

Groundbreaking research, funded by Science Foundation Ireland, and led by Dr Hill, which resulted in the identification of what is now referred to as the ‘Speed Gene’, has fundamentally changed the approach of combining bloodlines for the global industry.

“To date thousands of samples from past and future Champions have passed through Equinome’s laboratories at UCD on their way to the winning post and I look forward to expanding the use of genetic testing in the global Thoroughbred industry in the years ahead,” Dr Hill said.

John Kennedy
By John Kennedy

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years. His interests include all things technological, music, movies, reading, history, gaming and losing the occasional game of poker.

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