7 Oct 2020 07:00
Yourgene Health plc
("Yourgene" or the "Group" or the "Company")
IONA® Nx awarded contract with St George's NHS Hospital
Manchester, UK - 7 October 2020: Yourgene (AIM: YGEN), the international molecular diagnostics group, announces that it has been awarded the contract for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) using its newly-launched IONA® Nx NIPT Workflow ('IONA® Nx'), by the prestigious St George's NHS Trust Foundation in Tooting, South London ("St George's"). The contract, subject to signing by both parties, has been awarded after a competitive tender process and will extend Yourgene's existing partnership with St George's for a further three years, with testing volumes expected to increase over the contract period.
St George's was the first NIPT NHS laboratory in the UK and the first NHS Trust to provide NIPT testing to high risk pregnant women. St George's has a reputation for innovation in NIPT introducing these tests well ahead of the National Screening committee's January 2016 recommendation to do so. Yourgene won its first tender with St George's on 23 March 2015 with the Company's IONA® test to provide NIPT testing for women within South East England and to other NHS trusts and private practices across the UK.
Since that first tender, the lab has been offering the IONA® test under the St George's brand of the SAFE test. The new contract will see St George's transition over to the IONA® Nx NIPT Workflow which has been developed to run on the Illumina NextSeq 550Dx instrument.
Lyn Rees, CEO of Yourgene, commented: "We were chosen out of five companies that bid for the tender; I believe this is a true reflection of the excellent service and continued support that Yourgene offers its customers. The team at St George's have been early adopters and true champions of the benefits of NIPT for all pregnant women as part of antenatal screening. We have already been working in close partnership with St George's over the last few years, and look forward to strengthening our relationship with them further over the next few years."
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
Yourgene Health plc Lyn Rees, Chief Executive Officer | Tel: +44 (0)161 669 8122 investors@yourgene-health.com | ||
Barry Hextall, Chief Financial Officer |
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Joanne Cross, Director of Marketing |
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Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7213 0880 | ||
Liam Murray / James Caithie / Ludovico Lazzaretti |
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N+1 Singer (Joint Corporate Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3000 | ||
Aubrey Powell / Tom Salvesen / George Tzimas |
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Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Corporate Broker) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7710 7600 | ||
Nicholas Moore / Matthew Blawat / Ben Maddison |
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Walbrook PR Ltd (Media and Investor Relations) | Tel: +44 (0)20 7933 8780 or yourgene@walbrookpr.com | ||
Paul McManus / Lianne Cawthorne | Mob: 07980 541 893 / Mob: 07584 391 303 | ||
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About Yourgene Health plc
Yourgene is an international molecular diagnostics group which develops and commercialises genetic products and services. The group works in partnership with global leaders in DNA technology to advance diagnostic science.
Yourgene develops and commercialises simple and accurate molecular diagnostic solutions, for reproductive health and molecular genetics. The Group's products include non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT) for Down's Syndrome and other genetic disorders, Cystic Fibrosis screening tests, invasive rapid aneuploidy tests, male infertility tests and genetic disease tests. Yourgene's commercial footprint is already established in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Our product development, research service and commercial capabilities extend across the lifecycle of genetic test development including regulatory submissions. Through our technical expertise and partnerships, Yourgene is also extending its genetic testing offering into oncology.
Yourgene is headquartered in Manchester, UK with offices in Taipei and Singapore, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market under the ticker "YGEN". For more information, visit www.yourgene-health.com and follow us on twitter @Yourgene_Health.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but rather are based on the Company's current expectations, estimates, and projections about its industry; its beliefs; and assumptions. Words such as 'anticipates,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control, are difficult to predict, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. The Company cautions security holders and prospective security holders not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect the view of the Company only as of the date of this announcement. The forward-looking statements made in this announcement relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. The Company will not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions or updates to these forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances, or unanticipated events occurring after the date of this announcement except as required by law or by any appropriate regulatory authority.