{"id":12574,"date":"2013-01-07T11:30:58","date_gmt":"2013-01-07T16:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sciencebusiness.technewslit.com\/?p=12574"},"modified":"2014-01-10T11:02:35","modified_gmt":"2014-01-10T16:02:35","slug":"genetic-tech-company-to-acquire-prenatal-test-developer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewslit.com\/sciencebusiness\/?p=12574","title":{"rendered":"Genetic Tech Company to Acquire Prenatal Test Developer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pregnancy<\/a>
(U.S. Centers for Disease Control)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Illumina Inc.<\/a>, a developer of genetic diagnostics systems in San Diego, will acquire Verinata Health Inc.<\/a> in Redwood City, California, a provider of non-invasive prenatal tests for high-risk pregnancies. The deal will pay Verinata Health $350 million, with up to $100 million in additional milestone payments through 2015.<\/p>\n

Illumnia offers technology for research and diagnostics<\/a>, leading to molecular medicine and personalized treatments based on a patient’s genomic composition. The company’s technology covers single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping — the measurement of genetic sequencing variations — gene expression profiles, epigenetics that profile changes in genetic sequence functions, and proteomics that determine the presence of proteins in cells and their interaction.<\/p>\n

The privately held Verinata Health developed a prenatal test called Verifi<\/a> that analyzes a sample of blood (7 to 10 milliliters) from a pregnant woman for the most common fetal chromosome abnormalities called aneuploidy<\/a>, caused by an extra or missing chromosome. Administered by a physician, the test detects conditions such as Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, and Patau syndrome. An optional expanded analysis can test for Turner syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, and Jacobs syndrome.<\/p>\n

A blood sample is considered a safer testing procedure than amniocentesis<\/a>, the usual and more invasive testing procedure for chromosome abnormalities, which requires extracting amniotic fluid that surrounds and protects a baby during pregnancy. The Verifi analysis is based on high-throughput parallel genetic sequencing of the entire genome using the company’s algorithm for aneuploidy detection. The company says the results are more definitive than probabilities returned by risk score-based tests based on protein serum screens.<\/p>\n

In September 2012, Illumina acquired BlueGnome Ltd.<\/a> in Cambridge, U.K. a developer of diagnostics for genetic abnormalities associated with developmental delay, cancer, and infertility. One of BlueGnome’s tests is a preimplantation genetic screen for counting the chromosomes in a single human cell, administered at in vitro<\/em> fertilization centers, that can increase pregnancy rates for women and reducing miscarriages. The Verinata and BlueGnome acquisitions are expected to increase Illumina’s profile in the reproductive health market.<\/p>\n

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