Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM), a life sciences company providing innovative testing and genetic analysis solutions, announced that Laboratoire Cerba has launched its validated noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) to health care providers and their patients in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and portions of the Middle East and Africa. Laboratoire Cerba's test utilizes patented technology licensed from Sequenom to analyze the relative amounts of chromosomes 21, 18 and 13 in cell-free fetal DNA obtained from a maternal blood sample.
"We are excited that Laboratoire Cerba has been able to develop and validate a noninvasive prenatal test using our ground-breaking patented technology," said Dirk van den Boom, Executive Vice President, R&D and Chief Technical Officer, Sequenom, Inc. "This is a process that we are able to replicate with other laboratories around the world, and we look forward to continuing to establish meaningful partnerships and drive continued access to our patented technology internationally."
As part of the process of developing its test, Laboratoire Cerba performed its own blinded validation study to confirm the test's accuracy.
"We are pleased to now offer prenatal testing through our network with the use of Sequenom's patented technology," said Sylvie Cado, Chief Operating Officer of Laboratoire Cerba. "We are continuously trying to improve our service and offerings for patients and healthcare providers, and we believe our physician customers and the expectant families they work with will be thrilled to have access to this important information in an accurate, safe and efficient method."
Under the license from Sequenom, Laboratoire Cerba has the right to market its noninvasive test in multiple countries, including France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and Cameroun. Laboratoire Cerba will process test samples at laboratory facilities in Paris and will also have the option to send samples to Sequenom Laboratories in the United States for testing.
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