Equinome, the leading equine genomics company, officially launched its genetic-testing service to the Australian bloodstock industry at an event held yesterday in Sydney. The launch, which took place at the residence of the Irish Consul General, Caitríona Ingoldsby, was organised with the assistance of Enterprise Ireland and was attended by many of Australia’s premier bloodstock breeders.

Guests included Peter McGauran, CEO, Thoroughbred Breeders Australian, Andrew Harding, CEO, Australian Racing Board, Dr Christine Smith, President-Elect of Equine Veterinarians Australia, Michael Ford, Keeper of the Australian Stud Book and Professor Patrick Cunningham, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Irish Government.

Paul Burfield, Director Australia/New Zealand, Enterprise Ireland, Professor Patrick Cunningham, Dr Emmeline Hill and Caitríona Ingoldsby

At the launch Dr Emmeline Hill, co-founder and Chairman of Equinome, delivered a presentation outlining the research, development and commercialisation of the breakthrough Equinome Speed Gene Test. Unveiled earlier this year, the test can predict the optimum racing distance for an individual Thoroughbred by analysing the DNA sequence of a gene related to muscle mass development.

Breeders in Australia can now avail of the Equinome Speed Gene Test and incorporate the information provided by it into their key decision-making processes. This can be used to definitively ensure that a broodmare band will produce more of the desired type of foal, to assist with stallion choice, and to also ensure that breeding objectives are met more consistently.

Racehorse owners and trainers can also use the information to optimise purchasing and training decisions, enabling them to select with more certainty the type of horse that they wish to race and to better target suitable races for horses at the early-stages of their careers, maximising their genetic potential and increasing returns on investment.

Stallion masters can also use the information to ensure that a higher proportion of a young stallion’s early crops are of the preferred potential genetic type, thus enhancing its profile.

Equinome, a University College Dublin spin-out company, was established in 2009 by Dr Emmeline Hill in partnership with Mr Jim Bolger, the renowned Irish racehorse trainer and breeder. Headquartered in NovaUCD, the University’s Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, the company also has laboratory facilities in UCD’s School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine and at Jim Bolger’s training yard in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland.

Speaking at the launch in Sydney, Dr Hill a leading horse genomics researcher at University College Dublin, said, “We are delighted by the high level of interest that we have already received in Australia to the introduction of Equinome’s new genomic technology. The Australian bloodstock industry has always been recognised as one of the world leaders in the production and training of top-class Thoroughbred racehorses and we are very excited about working with breeders, owners and trainers here to assist in maintaining this proud tradition.”

Since the launch of company earlier this year, Equinome has already secured clients in USA, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, UK, France and Singapore.

Equinome has an ongoing research programme using the latest genomics technologies. It is using these technologies to identify and characterise the molecular genetic variants underlying key performance and health traits in the Thoroughbred which will lead to the commercialisation of additional genetic tests in the near future.

Through its associations with top-class breeders and trainers, Equinome also has access to large numbers of elite horses at various stages of training and competition that provide subjects for its scientific research programme.

ENDS

15 December 2010

For further information contact Micéal Whelan, NovaUCD, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie, t: +353 1 716 3712 or Donal Ryan, Managing Director, Equinome, e: donal.ryan@equinome.com, t: +353 1 716 3776.

Editor’s Notes

Equinome, a new Irish biotech company, was established in 2009 as a result of groundbreaking research led by company co-founder, Dr Emmeline Hill, and in partnership with racehorse trainer Mr Jim Bolger. Equinome’s ongoing research and development activities continue to support collaborations between world-class science and elite racehorse breeding and training, with facilities established at UCD’s School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine and at Jim Bolger’s training yard in Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. Through this research Equinome is continuing to drive the cutting-edge of equine performance genomics. Equinome was the overall winner of NovaUCD’s 2009 Campus Company Development Programme which assists academic entrepreneurs in bringing their innovative ideas from intellectual concepts to fully-developed and sound commercial business enterprises.

Dr Emmeline Hill hails from a family synonymous with horse racing and breeding in Ireland. Her grandmother, Charmian Hill, was the owner of Dawn Run, the only racehorse to have completed the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle (1984) and Gold Cup (1986) double. Dr Hill joined UCD in 2002 as a post-doctoral researcher. In 2004 she became a UCD Principal Investigator when she was awarded a Science Foundation Ireland President of Ireland Young Researcher Award. Dr Hill maintains strong industry links with horse breeding and training operations in Ireland and internationally and is a member of the International Horse Genome Mapping Group and the International Horse Genome Sequencing Consortium.  She graduated in 1995 with a BA (Genetics) from Trinity College Dublin and a PhD in Molecular Genetics in 2000.

NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre, is the hub of knowledge transfer activities at University College Dublin. NovaUCD is responsible for the commercialisation of intellectual property arising from UCD research and for the development of co-operation with industry and business. NovaUCD as a purpose-built centre also nurtures new technology and knowledge-intensive enterprises such as Equinome. NovaUCD has been funded through a unique public-private partnership that includes AIB Bank, Arthur Cox, Deloitte, Enterprise Ireland, Ericsson, Goodbody Stockbrokers, UCD and Xilinx.