SAN DIEGO, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sequenom, Inc.,
(NASDAQ: SQNM), a life sciences company committed to enabling
healthier lives through the development of innovative products and
services, today announced a significant performance enhancement to
the MaterniT® GENOME laboratory-developed test and will present new
data at the 20th International Conference on Prenatal
Diagnosis and Therapy, July 10-13,
2016, in Berlin,
Germany.
"MaterniT GENOME is a best-in-class noninvasive prenatal test
(NIPT) that identifies nearly 1 in 3 positive findings that may not
have been detected with standard NIPTs that only analyze major
chromosomal abnormalities such as trisomies 21, 18, 13 and sex
chromosome aneuploidies," said Dirk van den
Boom, PhD, President and CEO of Sequenom. "The market
receptivity and physician feedback are testaments to the unmet
medical need and clinical utility of MaterniT GENOME. Prior to the
launch of this novel test, many of the MaterniT GENOME positive
findings would have been identifiable only with an invasive
procedure; as such, we believe that genome-wide testing will become
the standard of care for NIPT in the future."
Genome-Wide Testing Makes MaterniT GENOME
Unique
Approximately 30% of the positive findings for
MaterniT GENOME are detected due to its genome-wide coverage while
other cell-free DNA-based NIPTs typically only analyze select
chromosomes. Other cell-free DNA-based NIPT on the market would
have missed these chromosomal abnormalities, potentially creating
false reassurance of an unaffected pregnancy. The broad and deep
analysis of this test, coupled with industry-leading sensitivity
and specificity, makes MaterniT GENOME the most comprehensive NIPT
on the market.
MaterniT GENOME: Improved for 22q11 Microdeletion
Performance
Along with analyzing all chromosomes for gains
or losses of chromosomal material that are 7 Megabases or greater
in size, MaterniT GENOME also analyzes select clinically relevant
microdeletions less than 7 Megabases in size. A microdeletion in
the 22q11 region is indicative of DiGeorge syndrome, the most
common microdeletion syndrome, which impacts multiple organ systems
and can be associated with significant morbidity and mortality in
the offspring. In June 2016, Sequenom
Laboratories implemented a performance enhancement to MaterniT
GENOME, made possible through deep bioinformatics capabilities,
that significantly increased sensitivity for 22q11 while
maintaining specificity. MaterniT GENOME offers superior
screening for 22q11 compared to standard cell-free DNA-based NIPT
offerings.
Posters to be presented at the 20th
International Conference on Prenatal Diagnosis and Therapy,
organized by the International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis
(ISPD)
Sequenom Laboratories will be presenting three
posters covering MaterniT GENOME at the ISPD Conference:
- Abstract ID: 71, Title: "Genome wide detection of
chromosomal gains and losses greater than 7Mb by cfDNA
analysis"
- Abstract ID: 41, Title: "Abnormal ultrasound and increased
yield of abnormal results with genome-wide cfDNA analysis"
- Abstract ID: 38, Title: "Expanding noninvasive prenatal
testing (NIPT) for screening of unbalanced translocations"
About Sequenom
Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is
committed to enabling healthier lives through the development of
innovative products and services. The Company serves patients and
physicians by providing early patient management information.
To learn how Sequenom is interpreting the genome to improve your
life, please visit www.sequenom.com.
About Sequenom Laboratories
Sequenom Laboratories, a
CAP-accredited and CLIA-certified molecular diagnostics laboratory,
has developed a broad range of laboratory tests, with a focus
principally on prenatal care. Branded under the names
HerediT®, MaterniT®, NextView®,
SensiGene® and VisibiliT™, these molecular
genetic laboratory-developed tests provide early patient management
information for obstetricians, geneticists, and maternal fetal
medicine specialists. Sequenom Laboratories is changing the
landscape in genetic diagnostics using proprietary cutting edge
technologies. Please visit www.sequenom.com and follow
@SequenomLabs.
SEQUENOM®, HerediT®,
MaterniT®, NextView®, SensiGene®,
VisibiliT™ and Sequenom Laboratories™ are
trademarks of Sequenom, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks
are the property of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in
this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts
are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including statements
regarding the development of innovative products and services and
the expectation that genome-wide testing will become the standard
of care for NIPT in the future. Risks are described more
fully in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including without limitation the Company's most recent
Form 10K and other documents subsequently filed with or furnished
to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak
only as of the date on which they were made. The Company
undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect
events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on
which they were made.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sequenom-laboratories-announces-significant-enhancement-to-maternit-genome-and-will-present-new-data-at-the-20th-international-conference-on-prenatal-diagnosis-and-therapy-300295127.html
SOURCE Sequenom, Inc.