Applied DNA Sciences' revenues shift up a gear

Applied DNA Sciences (APDN) has reported a sharp increase in quarterly revenues on the back of strong growth for its DNA markers.

The company reported nearly $4m in sales in the fourth quarter - a six-fold increase on the same period of 2014 and 76 per cent rise on the third-quarter of this year, driven mainly by DNA marking of textiles as well as US government contracts to tag electronics.

The company also benefited from an initial $400,000 order of DNA for the diagnostics market, following its $1.5m acquisition of Vandalia in September which has also boosted its manufacturing capacity as it brings projects such as cotton marking through to commercial scale.

APDN also reported its first ever positive operating profit in the quarter, which chief executive Jim Harward said "reflects the continued deployment of our botanical DNA-based solutions to secure global supply chains, coupled with the continued disciplined management of operating expenses."

Silicone rubber …

The company recently announced a collaboration in the rubber market, potentially further extending its customer base.

The deal - with SAS Industries - comes on the tail of a six-month feasibility project for its technology in liquid silicone rubber (LSR) materials and as well as metalised silicone composites. SAS supplies the US Department of Defense with waveguide gaskets and related products

Commercial grade LSR products manufactured during this the pilot project included O-rings, gaskets and specialty sealant parts, so the new project could help APDN penetrate not only the military market but also other industries including automotive, medical device and toys.

APDN worked with SAS to incorporate SigNature DNA into a proprietary SAS process for the manufacture of military grade composites used for EMI/RFI (electromagnetic interference/ radio-frequency interference) shielding.

The two companies say they will be presenting the DNA-marked silicone rubber products at various trade shows in the coming months.

…and artificial fibres

Meanwhile, APDN recently announced a technology partnership with Techmer PM that applies DNA tagging to master batches for synthetic fibre applications.

"Our model for the cotton industry has been revolutionary in its ability to secure textile supply chains," said Dr Hayward during the firm's results call.

"With its propensity for mislabelling and cheating and the enormous complexity of authenticating our commodity that changes hands multiple times across multiple countries, there are really is no more difficult supply chain to secure.

"But we have done it, and if we can do it for cotton, we can do it for other supply chains."