Sequenom Announce New Data from a Collaborative Project with The Chinese University of Hong Kong
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Sequenom, Inc. announced new data from a collaborative project with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, published this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that demonstrate its next-generation, noninvasive prenatal diagnostic technology quantified maternal plasma DNA sequences for fetal Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome, based on samples taken from women in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy.
These data are said to be the first to suggest that this future approach, based on massively parallel genomic DNA sequencing, can be effective in women who had not previously undergone invasive procedures.
This study used massively parallel genomic sequencing to quantify maternal plasma DNA sequences for the noninvasive prenatal detection of Down syndrome, assessing samples from 28 women in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. All 14 Down syndrome fetuses and normal fetuses were correctly identified at these early stages.
Sequenom licensed the exclusive rights to the massively parallel genomic DNA sequencing technology featured in this study from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in September 2008.
Current screening technology for Down syndrome includes serum marker analysis, such as the quad screen and first trimester combined screening that employs both serum marker testing and nuchal translucency. These approaches have detection or sensitivity rates of 80% and 85% respectively, which means between 15% and 20% of all Down syndrome-affected pregnancies will not be identified as needing further evaluation.
The study, entitled "Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of fetal chromosomal aneuploidy by massively parallel genomic sequencing of DNA in maternal plasma" by Chiu et. al., is available online in this week's Early Edition of PNAS at www.PNAS.org.
