Newberry may be home to DNA technology firm

NEWBERRY – A Gainesville based company is looking to open a new corporate office in Newberry.

At a city commission meeting held earlier this month, representatives from the North Central Florida Diagnostics and DNA Technologies presented their interest in doing business in Newberry, and announced some positions open in the company.

Robin Harpe, the company’s chief operating officer, said that factors leading to Newberry’s consideration for the company’s new location include economic development activity around the city and that the city was welcoming to the idea.

“Right now, we are researching different location within Newberry, different complexes,” Harpe said, noting that the company hasn’t found a place yet.

For Newberry, the number of jobs that North Central Florida Diagnostics and DNA Technologies might bring is not certain, but it is expected the office will open sometime next year.

For now, Harpe said the laboratory is hiring for positions such as executive assistant, lab director and technicians. Those jobs are located between Gainesville and Alachua.

According to the company’s website, the North Central Florida Diagnostics and DNA Technologies is poised to pinpoint the genetic mutation causing seizures in epilepsy patients, and will make and provide quality primers, which are used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifications used for laboratory DNA research.

Parent company, North Central Florida Neurodiagnostic Services, was in 2010 and is located at 5318 SW 91st Terrace in Gainesville.