SAN DIEGO, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sequenom, Inc. today announced that a research study published in the Nature Medicine advance online publication, January 7, 2007 (doi:10.1038/nm1530) shows the noninvasive prenatal determination of fetal trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) using Sequenom’s MassARRAY(R) technology platform. The study by Y M Dennis Lo, Nancy B Y Tsui, Rossa W K Chiu, Tze K Lau, Tse N Leung, Macy M S Heung, Ageliki Gerovassili, Yongjie Jin, Kypros H Nicolaides, Charles R Cantor & Chunming Ding will be published in the February 2007 print edition of Nature Medicine, volume 13, issue 2.
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“The study demonstrates that starting with a simple non-invasive blood sample from a pregnant woman, an RNA single nucleotide polymorphism-based methodology alone, or in combination with other molecular determinations, should have the requisite accuracy for future diagnostic use in screening for Down syndrome,” said Charles Cantor, Ph.D., co-author of the study and Chief Scientific Officer of Sequenom. “While additional work remains to be done, these findings are very exciting and provide further data that the unique characteristics of Sequenom’s MassARRAY technology make this platform potentially well-suited for future diagnostic applications, particularly noninvasive prenatal diagnostics.”
In October 2005 Sequenom acquired exclusive rights to non-invasive prenatal diagnostic intellectual property from Isis Innovation Ltd., the technology transfer company of the University of Oxford (England). The intellectual property covers noninvasive prenatal genetic diagnostic testing on fetal nucleic acids derived from plasma or serum and, for example, includes testing for cystic fibrosis, hemoglobinopathies and chromosomal aneuploidies (e.g., Down syndrome). The licensed rights are platform independent and enable the development and performance of tests, such as those described in the publication cited above, on any relevant platform, including the MassARRAY platform, which is highly enabling for certain prenatal tests such as Rhesus D and others.
“This research study’s results demonstrate the utility of our MassARRAY platform and reinforce Sequenom’s approach of using fetal nucleic acids as a basis for noninvasive prenatal diagnostic development,” said Betty Dragon, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, R&D, of Sequenom. “These results provide validation of our strategy and are particularly encouraging because of the complexity involved in designing aneuploidy assays and the need for quantitative, compared to qualitative, measurement.”
About Sequenom
Sequenom is committed to providing the best genetic analysis products that translate genomic science into superior solutions for biomedical research, agricultural applications, molecular medicine and non-invasive prenatal testing. The Company’s proprietary MassARRAY system is a high-performance DNA analysis platform that efficiently and precisely measures the amount of genetic target material and variations therein. The system is able to deliver reliable and specific data from complex biological samples and from genetic target material that is only available in trace amounts. The Company has exclusively licensed intellectual property rights for the development and commercialization of non-invasive prenatal genetic tests for use with the MassARRAY system and other platforms.
Sequenom(R) and MassARRAY(R) are trademarks of SEQUENOM, Inc.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements regarding requisite accuracy for future diagnostic use in screening for Down syndrome, additional work to be done and the suitability of the MassARRAY platform for future diagnostic applications, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s technologies, research and development efforts, governmental and other regulatory approvals, market acceptance of and demand for the Company’s products, reliance upon the collaborative efforts of others, product development and commercialization, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and subsequent periodic reports. These forward-looking statements are based on current information that is likely to change and speak only as of the date hereof. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and Sequenom undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the issuance of this press release.
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CONTACT: John Sharp, Principal Financial Officer of Sequenom, Inc.,+1-858-202-9032; or Investor Relations, Zachary Bryant, zbryant@lhai.com,or Jody Cain, jcain@lhai.com, both of Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates,+1-310-691-7100, for Sequenom, Inc.
Web site: http://www.sequenom.com/
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