Verinata Health, Inc. Announces a Multi-Year Supply Agreement with Illumina, Inc. in the Field of Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnostics
SAN CARLOS, Calif. and SAN DIEGO, Sept. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Verinata Health, Inc., a privately-held company dedicated to maternal and fetal health, today announced it has signed a three-year supply agreement with Illumina, Inc., a leading developer and manufacturer of life sciences tools for the large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.
Under the terms of the agreement, Verinata Health will purchase Illumina's sequencing instruments and consumables for use in the commercialization of non-invasive prenatal testing for the detection of multiple aneuploidies. Verinata Health and Illumina also agreed to collaborate toward gaining regulatory approval for the testing service.
"We are very pleased to enter into a commercialization partnership with Illumina," said Caren Mason, Chief Executive Officer of Verinata Health. "With our proprietary technology and Illumina's sequencing prowess, it is our intention to advance and improve the testing methods of today for the determination of fetal aneuploidy. This supply agreement is designed to provide uninterrupted access to Illumina's HiSeq sequencing instrument and consumables including certain updates and improvements applied to current technology."
"Non-invasive prenatal testing represents an exciting market for sequencing and Illumina is pleased to enter into this supply agreement with Verinata Health for Illumina's HiSeq 2000 platform," said Jay Flatley, President and CEO of Illumina. "We look forward to closely collaborating with Verinata Health and are ready to meet their needs as they validate and commercialize their test."
Verinata Health, Inc.
Verinata is driven by a sole, extraordinary purpose maternal and fetal health. Our initial focus is to develop and offer non-invasive tests for early identification of fetal chromosomal abnormalities using our proprietary technologies. We aim to reduce the anxiety associated with today's multi-step process, the unacceptable false-positive rates, the non-specific and sometimes confusing results of current prenatal screening methods, as well as the risk of current invasive procedures. In support of national guidelines recommending first trimester aneuploidy risk assessment, we believe women who desire such an assessment should be offered a single blood draw test with a definitive result. Verinata is conducting a prospective, blinded pivotal study to clinically validate the sensitivity and specificity of its first prenatal test on a large scale with results of the study expected in 2011. For more information about Verinata, please go to www.verinata.com.
About Illumina
Illumina (www.illumina.com) is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of life science tools and integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and function. We provide innovative sequencing and array-based solutions for genotyping, copy number variation analysis, methylation studies, gene expression profiling, and low-multiplex analysis of DNA, RNA, and protein. We also provide tools and services that are fueling advances in consumer genomics and diagnostics. Our technology and products accelerate genetic analysis research and its application, paving the way for molecular medicine and ultimately transforming healthcare.
SOURCE Verinata Health, Inc.