22 Sep 2015 07:00
Premaitha signs first non-European partnership with Servicios Genéticos OriGen to provide the IONA® test for pregnant women in Chile
Manchester, UK and Santiago, Chile - 22 September 2015 - Premaitha Health plc ("Premaitha" or "the Company", AIM: NIPT), developer of the IONA® test, the first CE-marked non-invasive prenatal screening test (NIPT) has signed an agreement with Servicios Genéticos OriGen ("OriGen"), a private laboratory group in Santiago, Chile. This is Premaitha's first partnership outside of Europe and helps expand the IONA® test's reach to meet the growing global demand for NIPT.
Premaitha's IONA® test estimates the risk of a fetus being affected by Down's syndrome and other serious genetic conditions such as Patau's syndrome and Edwards' syndrome by analysing fetal DNA from a sample of maternal blood.
NIPT is more sensitive and specific than the current combined test available, providing pregnant women and their families with a more accurate and reliable screening result. This reduces the incidence of unnecessary and stressful invasive procedures like amniocentesis, and the associated risk of miscarriage.
As part of the agreement, OriGen will send maternal blood samples to Premaitha's UK-based accredited clinical laboratory for analysis using the IONA® test, a process which takes just three days. Test results are then provided to OriGen directly.
Dr Stephen Little, CEO of Premaitha said: "NIPT is a substantial improvement to the current standard of pregnancy care. We are pleased to be able to expand our geographical reach beyond Europe by providing clinical laboratory services to the OriGen team. We look forward to helping more pregnant women in Chile and across the world benefit from the superior clinical and technical performance, and speed of the IONA® test."
Sebastian Salinas, General Manager of OriGen said: "For us, the decision to partner with Premaitha was a very simple one. The rapid, reliable results provided by the IONA® test means that we can provide anxious pregnant women and their families with the information they need about their pregnancy in days, not weeks. Other NIPT testing services can have a time to result of over two weeks, so the IONA® test is a big improvement which we can now offer to pregnant women here in Chile."
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For more information, please contact:
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Premaitha Health plcDr Stephen Little, Chief Executive Officer Jo Cross, Head of Marketing | Tel: +44 (0) 161 667 6865Email: investors@premaitha.com joanne.cross@premaitha.com
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Servicios Genéticos OriGen Sebastian Salinas, General Manager
| Tel: +56 2295 27879 Email: sebasalinas@me.com
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Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD - Premaitha)Liam Murray / Avi Robinson
| Tel: +44 (0) 20 7148 7900 |
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Broker - Premaitha)Robert Naylor / Freddy Crossley / Maisie Rose Atkinson
| Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500 |
Instinctif Partners (Media - Premaitha)Melanie Toyne Sewell / Jen Lewis /Emma Barlow | Tel: +44 (0) 207 457 2020 Email: premaitha@instinctif.com |
About Premaitha Health
Premaitha is an innovative molecular diagnostics company employing the latest advances in DNA analysis technology to develop tests for non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPT) and other applications. Premaitha's flagship product, the IONA® test is the first non-invasive in vitro diagnostic product for prenatal screening enabling clinical laboratories to offer CE-marked NIPT in-house for the first time.
The IONA® test estimates the risk of a fetus having Down's syndrome or other serious genetic diseases. The IONA® test has a higher detection rate and lower false positive rate than existing screening tests, giving pregnant women, their families and their doctors greater confidence in the result and reducing the need for unnecessary invasive follow-up tests and the associated anxiety and stress. The IONA® test is a complete diagnostic system that is simple and standardised, enabling Premaitha's clinical laboratory customers to perform the test in their own facilities. This supports Premaitha's strategy of accelerating the broad dissemination of NIPT tests to ensure that their benefits are available to pregnant women everywhere.
Premaitha is listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM). Its R&D, manufacturing and commercial operation is located at Manchester Science Park, UK. For further information please visit www.premaitha.com or email iona@premaitha.com.
About Servicios Genéticos OriGen
Located in Santiago, Chile and founded in 2010, "OriGen" offers personal genetic solutions. OriGen is a leader in personalised genetic solutions in Chile, performing >4,000 different tests. With a broad network of physicians, including private practices, clinical laboratories and private clinics, OriGen applies customised and scientifically validated genetic testing technologies to help in the prevention and diagnosis of disease.
The Company offers a range of genetic services, including pharmacogenomics, tumour profiling, PGD and NIPT. OriGen provides these services through private clinics, physicians, dieticians and selected health management organisations and owns a weight management and preventative medicine centre in Las Condes in Santiago.
For more information please visit www.tuorigen.cl