Ariosa Diagnostics, San Jose, Calif, plans to expand the indications for the Harmony test and broaden access into new global markets.
The test analyzes cell-free DNA circulating in maternal blood, which allows a high level of accuracy for detecting fetal trisomies, such as trisomy 21 that causes Down syndrome. The company is expanding the clinical indications for the test to include all IVF singleton pregnancies, including unrelated egg donor and surrogate pregnancies.
The expanded test for IVF pregnancies will be available in the United States and in several international markets. In 2012, Ariosa began offering the test in the UK, and the company is now expanding throughout Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and Latin America.
On another front, the company has entered into a mutual partnership with The Doctors Laboratory (TDL), London, to promote and distribute the Harmony prenatal test, whereby TDL will offer the test through its reference lab services to physicians and their pregnant patients.
“Noninvasive prenatal testing is one of the most exciting and important developments in this field in the last 50 years,” says Lisa Levett, director, TDL Genetics.
[Source: Ariosa Diagnostics]
