Mamie Pace invites First to her penthouse in St Julian’s.

Styling : Andrew Alexander of Tanti Interiors

On first meeting Mamie Pace one gets the impression that she is the archetypal mother, very feminine and warm. While this is true, there is also another persona behind this veneer, a strong woman with drive and strength flowing through her veins. She is in fact the director of a company, Synergene, at the forefront of cutting edge technology. Her home, to me, seems almost an extension of her work as everything from the sleek stainless steel kitchen tops, to the built-in coffee machine, the glass storage units and the state-of-the-art plasma screen is extremely up-to-the-minute.

Over a coffee she recalls that in the early 1990’s, together with her husband Rod, she moved from Sydney to ‘supposedly’ semi retire in Brisbane. "At that time we heard of some research that was being conducted regarding the ability to ‘switch’ genes on or off in plants and animals.

“We were fascinated and when the research succeeded, we financed the original company and took it through to commercialisation. This company has world wide patents and is actively licensing its technology. By this stage we were hooked on the excitement of biotechnology and decided to venture into Europe." So they looked at three countries: Ireland, the independent Principality of Andorra and Malta. Mamie continues: "Andorra was ruled out first as it was non-English speaking. Ireland and Malta then battled it out with tax incentives and so on and we went back and forth between the two countries. Malta became the final choice based on climate, location, access to Southern Europe and North Africa, tax incentives and other advantages."

Hence 'Synergene (Malta)' was born.

She then speaks about her long affair with the island. "I actually visited Malta back in the 1960's with a group of girlfriends straight out of school, now I really am admitting my age! We travelled to Malta for one week and ended up staying a month with calls back home pleading with our parents to empty our bank accounts and send us our savings. We simply adored the island and wanted to stay. I can still remember some of the discos we went to and the tanned gorgeous men we met. Malta was just so much fun for us at that age! Then I returned in the 1970's with my husband. I had migrated from the U.K to Australia where I met and married my husband and we were back in Europe on an extended business trip. After we had travelled through Holland, France and Italy my husband had business meetings in Libya, so I was ‘dropped’ off in Malta as in the mid-seventies it was quite difficult for a foreign woman to enter Libya. We stayed in a beautiful suite at the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana and I actually kept a travel diary of that holiday which my eldest son Andrew, read only the other day. It seemed to amuse him!" On the first day they arrived in Malta, Mrs Pace recalls, her husband left for Libya, and she wrote in that diary: 'I am so glad to be back home in my beautiful Malta.'

"Malta," says Mrs Pace, "always felt like home to me. I have had a love affair with your country going back over 40 years. Now that I have been living here permanently for six years it feels even more like home. I still have one son Mark and my grandson, Joshua, who is now five years old, living back in Australia and we travel back and forth quite often to see them. Joshua loves Malta and has been several times. They will be coming next for my birthday in December, the dreaded 60th and he has already packed his little case in anticipation".

The Paces bought this penthouse on plan a few years ago, but they had previously lived in a house of character in Attard. "The farmhouse we owned had an indoor pool and was very large and was hard to maintain when we travelled and stayed away for a month at a time. So we decided to move to this penthouse which we can lock and leave with no problems. Kenneth Tanti, from Tanti Interiors was our designer. He handled most of the interior design work including the soft furnishings and we are now working with Kenneth to create an exciting living space on the terrace. At present we have a few construction problems due to leaking water to the underlying apartments but we will soon be building a large 220 sq. m glass conservatory that will house an additional living area, another dining table for 14 people and an industrial style BBQ and second kitchen area. I am very excited about Kenneth's innovative designs."

And which is her favourite room? "That's a hard question as it is forever changing depending on my mood. Sometimes when I have worked through the night on the phone with the Australian office, my favourite room is the bedroom and our bed! At other times I love the kitchen as it tends to be the heart of the home and is a great space for entertaining and cooking. Then again I love the multi-media room and sitting in front of the TV watching an old classic movie and just forgetting business for the day. Even the bathroom is great. I love soaking in the tub in what my grandson calls 'the space ship bath' where you can soak, steam or even sauna whilst watching TV!"

Mamie's enthusiasm about her work is almost like that of a child with a new toy and she is full of excitement when I ask her whether DNA testing is the same as what we see on TV. "Forensic investigations have certainly been glamourised on television but the DNA analysis element portrayed is actually very similar. We have an excellent scientific team, I am proud to say, that we do a lot of work for the Maltese Law courts. Previously such DNA testing was sent overseas but it can now be handled in Malta at significantly reduced costs that save the taxpayer money. We work closely with some of the top forensic pathologists on the island and have done forensic works on some very interesting cases; alongside these experts we are looking at jointly setting up Malta's first specialized Forensic Scene of Crime Unit. Along with forensic testing, Synergene offers all types of DNA testing such as paternity and relationship testing for long lost relatives. 95% of the company's revenue is derived from overseas."

While Mrs Pace is the co-founder and head of an international biotechnology company, which is quite a unique and specialised industry for Malta, she tells me that her family has always been behind her. In fact her son Andrew is director of sales and marketing for the Synergene Group.

"We have administration offices and agents in countries such as Holland, Ireland, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Romania and Peru. We are now looking to set-up in the USA and further in South America with all samples being sent to the labs in Malta so he is kept very busy promoting the Synergene brand on an international platform.

My husband Rod, of course, is with me in Malta, he is the quiet achiever and works tirelessly by my side expanding and developing the business. The company itself is still very 'unique' to Malta, we were the first private DNA Laboratory here and some legislation had to actually be written to accommodate us. We were the first and are the only private laboratory in Malta to be accredited with the prestigious ISO 17025 international accreditation and we will soon be announcing a significant expansion programme which will give Synergene another first in Malta so to speak! No pun intended to First Magazine."