SeraCare Life Sciences, AAB Partner

SeraCare Life Sciences has announced that it is partnering with AAB Proficiency Testing Service (AAB) for the development and use of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) reference materials. The Houston-based proficiency test provider plans to incorporate these materials into their upcoming PGS proficiency scheme. PGS is a screening technique to evaluate cells from in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos for the presence of chromosomal aneuploidies such as trisomy 21, trisomy 18, or trisomy 13. This is increasingly being performed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) and there is a critical and urgent need for reliable reference materials to expedite new test development as well as enable routine monitoring of PGS assay performance.

SeraCare's Seraseq^TM PGS Reference Materials consist of precisely quantitated fetal DNA derived from trophoblast cells from either confirmed trisomies or normal pregnancies. These materials can easily be customized to a desired concentration (as low as a few picograms) depending on the PGS assay requirement. As the IVF market continues to expand globally, AAB’s proficiency testing programs require precise and reliable source materials to ensure the accuracy of the growing number of PGS assays deployed worldwide. AAB is one of the nation’s largest full-service proficiency testing providers, and the leading provider of IVF programs in the country.

“As a proficiency test provider, we play an important and independent role in ensuring the accuracy and ongoing consistency of assay performance. It is important that we have a robust, reliable, and consistent supply of reference materials that mimic biochemical composition seen in actual clinical samples in a PGS lab,” said Eric Vanderslice, Ph.D., Vice President and Technical Director at AAB. “Seraseq PGS reference materials offer a consistent and precise supply of trisomy and euploid material that allows us to confidently evaluate assay performance, with the ultimate goal to ensure accurate results to clinicians and IVF patients.”

“SeraCare is already the leading provider of reference materials for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) assays with our Seraseq Trisomy Reference Materials and we are very excited to launch our first product for PGS through this partnership with AAB,” said Trevor Brown, Vice President of Precision Medicine at SeraCare. “We will continue to invest and grow our innovative QC portfolio in support of these fast growing clinical applications for reproductive health with the goal of helping labs develop better and more accurate assays with the ability to track their daily performance.”