As Europe’s first non-invasive molecular diagnostic blood test for the determination of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies from maternal blood, PrenaTest® has now successfully been validated for use in multiple pregnancies.

It is the only blood test that can be used without any restriction following all methods of fertility treatment, such as IVF or egg donation, after the 9th week of gestation.

To date, several thousand PrenaTest® analysis have been successfully performed in singleton pregnancies.

The number of multiple pregnancies has steadily increased in Germany over the last years due to an increased use of fertility treatments especially with women of higher age.

For these, PrenaTest® is a valuable and risk-free improvement for the determination of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies given the significantly increased risk for miscarriage following an invasive diagnostic procedure like amniocentesis, compared to such risk in case of singleton pregnancies.

In addition, conventional non-invasive examinations such as first trimester screening show a two to three fold increase with respect to the false positive rate.

"We are happy to report that we correctly classified all trisomy cases with the PrenaTest® in a validation study which included 62 twin and triplet pregnancies,” said Dr. Michael Lutz , CEO of LifeCodexx AG. "With the successful validation of the PrenaTest® for multiple pregnancies, we have set high standards again in this innovative field of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis."

In addition, the innovative PrenaTest® express is now available in other European countries, too. This express version of the PrenaTest® provides the test results in one week and thus shortens the stressful waiting period for pregnant women to a minimum. In Germany about every fourth patient opts for the express version.