Identigen Ltd., an Ireland-based company with North American headquarters in Lawrence, announced Tuesday that biotech entrepreneur John Monahan had joined the company’s board of directors.

Monahan was founding chief executive officer of Avigen Inc., where for more than 12 years he guided development of a pipeline of clinical products, secured more than $235 million in capital and oversaw the company’s initial public offering on Nasdaq.

Identigen North America, with its headquarters and lab at 4824 Quail Crest Place in Lawrence, uses its DNA TraceBack technology to assure retailers, meat processors, producers and local governments that a cut of beef or pork on a store shelf came from a specific animal slaughtered at a packing plant.

Such services can justify paying premium prices for organic or other specialty products, or enable officials to limit market damage from a food-borne illness.