16 Dec 2013 [Press release]

DiagCor to Launch Natera’s Panorama™ Non-Invasive Prenatal Test in Hong Kong

SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Natera today announced that DiagCor, a manufacturer of in-vitro diagnostic products and service provider of clinical diagnostic tests, has signed an agreement to launch Natera’s Panorama™ non-invasive prenatal screening test (NIPT) in Hong Kong. Panorama uses a simple blood draw from the mother to detect trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome), monosomy X (Turner’s syndrome), triploidy (Triploid syndrome) and sex chromosome aneuploidies. The test, launched in the United States, is highly accurate and can be performed from nine weeks onward. In contrast to traditional genetic testing like amniocentesis, Panorama causes no risk to the fetus.

“Recent advances in non-invasive prenatal testing have changed the way we think about managing pregnancies,” said Joseph Chow, Ph.D., General Manager of DiagCor. “We have partnered with Natera because the accuracy and clinical coverage of Panorama is unmatched by its peers.”

Matthew Rabinowitz, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Natera, said, “Natera is committed to helping parents worldwide have healthy babies, and this partnership with DiagCor enables us to expand Panorama’s availability to patients in Hong Kong and the surrounding region.”

Panorama is an advanced second generation NIPT that uniquely uses a patented algorithm called Next Generation Aneuploidy Test Using SNPs (NATUS) to analyze the cell-free DNA from both the mother and the fetus. Utilizing the mother’s white blood cells, Panorama is able to identify the fetal genotype, resulting in higher accuracy than first generation NIPT technologies, which use a purely quantitative counting method to determine fetal chromosomal copy number.

Across multiple clinical trials, Panorama has been validated globally and has greater than 99% combined accuracy for trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13, monosomy X and triploidy. Panorama is also offered as part of the California Prenatal Screening Program, the largest publicly-funded screening program in the world.

About Natera

Natera is a leading genetic testing company that has developed a proprietary bioinformatics-based technology (NATUS) to deliver accurate and comprehensive high-throughput testing for reproductive indications from tiny quantities of DNA. Natera operates a CLIA-certified laboratory in San Carlos, Calif., providing a host of preconception and prenatal genetic testing services. Test offerings include pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to identify chromosomal anomalies or inherited genetic conditions in embryos generated during an IVF cycle; products-of-conception testing following miscarriage to rapidly and extensively analyze fetal chromosomes in order to understand the cause of the pregnancy loss; non-invasive prenatal testing to determine paternity; carrier screening tests to detect whether parents carry genetic variations that may result in disease in the child; and Panorama™, a safe, simple test for pregnant women that identifies the most common chromosomal anomalies in a fetus as early as nine weeks of gestation. Natera's PreNATUS clinical trial for non-invasive screening of fetal chromosomal anomalies is funded by the NIH and is being conducted by the leaders in maternal-fetal medicine in the United States. In August, Natera was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer for innovations in prenatal care. For more information, visit www.natera.com