FBI Approves Life Technologies' Forensics Kit

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has granted approval of the Life Technologies GlobalFiler Kit for forensic laboratories that generate DNA profiles and upload them to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database.

The agency’s decision was based on data submitted by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences (ADFS), which validated the solution that is designed to help solve serious crimes. It is the second DNA kit by Thermo Fisher Scientific to be cleared in less than a year.

The GlobalFiler Kit and the previously approved GlobalFiler Express Kit interrogate the broadest range of genetic data of any chemistry on the market, resulting in faster and more powerful comparisons of forensic samples to resolve crimes and help reduce the growing sample backlog waiting to be tested. Both are the only solutions that contain all the genetic markers recommended for inclusion by the CODIS Core Loci Working Group, and 10 additional markers commonly used in Europe to reduce the risk of chance matches while enabling more effective data sharing among countries.

Managed by the National DNA Index System (NDIS), CODIS facilitates the electronic comparison and exchange of DNA profiles between participating local, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories. While approval of the GlobalFiler Kit primarily applies to the U.S. forensic community, other countries follow the FBI’s guidance.

As global forensic databases expand, standardization is crucial to ensure fast, accurate and efficient DNA sample comparisons. To date, 46 countries have implemented criminal offender DNA database programs with a combined offender sample pool of 50 million and growing. The Life Technologies GlobalFiler Express Kit received approval soon after its release in 2012 based on data also submitted by the ADFS. Thermo Fisher Scientific is the only company to receive FBI approval for the solution’s six-dye chemistry, which is designed for maximum information recovery. It also facilitates amplification of challenging samples, such as degraded human remains.

“As a trusted partner to forensic labs globally, we know that turnaround time, information recovery and cost efficiency are critically important to our customers,” said Nadia Altomare, vice president and general manager, Human Identification, for Thermo Fisher Scientific. “That’s why the GlobalFiler chemistry has been designed to maximize profile information from the most challenging casework samples in a timely manner. Now with NDIS approval, the solution further expedites powerful data matching capabilities to help solve crimes.”