Premaitha Health launches 'Sage' prenatal testing product

Molecular diagnostics group Premaitha Health announced the launch of ‘Sage’ on Friday, which it described as an non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) solution incorporating additional prenatal screening analysis tools.

The AIM-traded firm described Sage as an “advanced NIPT analysis solution”, available through Yourgene Bioscience Singapore, which was acquired by Premaitha in March.

It said the test uses the “latest technology” to detect placental DNA in a maternal blood sample, enabling pregnant women to get fast, safe and reliable test results whilst reducing the number of women required to undergo invasive follow up tests with the associated risks.

Sage offered customers a “cost-effective, high-quality and flexible” prenatal screening test that could be tailored to provide a full clinical service for hospitals or to local laboratory set-ups, all with a fast workflow of three days, Premaitha explained.

Utilising cloud-based bioinformatics analysis, Sage allowed laboratories to upload sequencing data files to the cloud for remote analysis via Yourgene's portal analysis package.

The solution would significantly expand Premaitha's addressable market, the board claimed, giving access not only to new customers, but also offering additional analysis tools for existing customers of the IONA product.

Sage is a complementary solution to IONA, it said, as Premaitha's CE-marked IONA test detected trisomies 21, 18 and 13, whereas Sage offered an extended test panel, including full chromosome analysis, thereby enabling customers to maintain a “competitive edge” in the growing number of laboratories offering NIPT.

“To be able to launch the Sage test, a valuable addition to the Premaitha portfolio, having only completed the acquisition of Yourgene three months ago, is a real testament to the capabilities and expertise across our technical, clinical and commercial teams,” said Premaitha CEO Stephen Little.

“The launch of Sage presents a significant opportunity to extend Premaitha's footprint and market penetration across Asia Pacific and other regions.

“Yourgene already has a strong, established network of customers across Asia-Pacific, and we are now in a position to offer a complete NIPT solution to address the needs of any laboratory, with our IONA test continuing to service demand for premium CE-IVD testing.”

Dr Little said the Premaitha team would work with local customers across the region to increase understanding of the benefits of NIPT and raise awareness in and amongst clinicians.

Premaitha said it was also “very keen” to support healthcare professionals offering Sage and IONA with comprehensive clinical and technical training to ensure they were “well equipped” to counsel pregnant women on their NIPT options.