NewBridge Pharmaceuticals established an exclusive agreement with Verinata Health to expand access to Verinata’s verifi® test, a noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) currently available for high-risk pregnancies.
The verifi prenatal test is performed in Verinata’s CLIA-certified, California laboratory using a single maternal blood draw as early as 10 weeks of pregnancy to detect multiple fetal chromosomal aneuploidies. Under the agreement terms, NewBridge will serve as the exclusive Verinata Health commercial partner for the sales and marketing of the verifi test in the countries of the Middle East, Turkey, Africa, and Caspian regions.
Traditionally, doctors have used invasive tests such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) to determine the chromosomal status of a fetus during a woman’s pregnancy. The verifi test detects Down syndrome (trisomy 21 or T21), Edwards syndrome (trisomy 18 or T18), and Patau syndrome (trisomy 13 or T13), as well as the most common fetal sex chromosome aneuploidies including Turner syndrome (Monosomy X), Triple X (XXX), Klinefelter syndrome (XXY), and Jacobs syndrome (XYY).
“The verifi test offers unique advantages with superior performance and the most comprehensive testing menu in the noninvasive prenatal testing arena,” said Garrett Vygantas, M.D., vice president of strategy and business development for NewBridge.
A physician may classify a woman as “high-risk” if she is over 35 years of age, has a prior personal or family history of chromosome abnormalities, or has had a positive initial screening test indicating she is at increased risk for carrying a fetus with a genetic abnormality.
