Yourgene Health, a molecular diagnostics group within the Novacyt group of companies, has announced the UK launch of a fully comprehensive non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPT) service, Iona Care+.
Leveraging the Iona Nx NIPT Workflow, the testing service claims to deliver fast, accurate, and safe outcomes, minimising the need for invasive procedures and the associated risks.
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Iona Care+ expands on Yourgene Genomic Services’ existing NIPT offerings by enabling a menu-based approach for expectant parents, stated the company.
This allows them to select from a range of screening tests that measure the likelihood of a foetus being affected by genetic conditions.
The service includes screening for common conditions such as Edwards’, Patau’s, and Down’s syndromes, as well as a variety of other chromosomal abnormalities.
The comprehensive menu also includes screening for microdeletion syndromes.
These syndromes include Prader-Willi, Angelman, DiGeorge, 1p36 deletion, Wolf-Hirschhorn, and Cri-du-Chat.
NIPT can be performed from as early as ten weeks gestation and involves analysing a small maternal blood sample using next-generation sequencing technology.
The service offers three clinical alternatives tailored to individual needs: the Iona test for common trisomies, Iona Care for trisomies and sex chromosome aneuploidies, and the newly introduced Iona Care+ for microdeletions.
Findings from the NIPT screening will be available from Yourgene Genomic Services’ laboratories in Manchester, UK, within three to five working days.
Novacyt CEO Lyn Rees said: “We are pleased to announce our newest service — the most comprehensive clinical menu in our portfolio of screening tests offered to pregnant women by our Genomic Services’ laboratories.
“Iona Care+ is the extension of our NIPT Service portfolio running in our Manchester Service Laboratory.”
The test is accessible through local midwives or private clinics and is suitable for singleton and monochorionic twin pregnancies.
In November 2023, the company announced its partnership with Laboriad to establish the first NIPT platform in Rabat, Morocco.
