Global Maternal and Fetal Health Leader and NIPT Innovator Join To
Provide Comprehensive Prenatal Solutions for Doctors and Parents
WALTHAM, Mass. & REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
PerkinElmer,
Inc. (NYSE: PKI) and Verinata
Health, Inc., today announced a strategic agreement for expanding
access to Verinata's verifi® test, the most comprehensive
non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) currently available for high-risk
pregnancies. The verifi®
test, which is performed at Verinata's CLIA-certified,
California laboratory, uses a single maternal blood draw as early as 10
weeks of pregnancy to detect multiple fetal chromosomal aneuploidies.
Chromosomal aneuploidy is an abnormal number of chromosomes.
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, PerkinElmer will serve
as an exclusive Verinata Health commercial partner in the joint sales
and marketing of the verifi® test in the United States. The
collaboration consolidates and streamlines delivery of prenatal testing
options due to the combination of PerkinElmer's extensive prenatal
testing menu with Verinata's proprietary technologies for the early,
non-invasive identification of specific fetal chromosomal aneuploidies.
"PerkinElmer has a strong history and commitment to bring innovative
offerings that are dedicated to maternal and fetal health, to physicians
and patients. Integrating Verinata's non-invasive prenatal test with
PerkinElmer's existing solutions ensures that physicians and patients
have early access to the most advanced testing solutions to help protect
the health of mothers and babies and we look forward to working with
Illumina," said Robert Friel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
PerkinElmer.
In December 2012, the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine issued
a joint Committee Opinion stating that NIPT is one option that can be
used as a primary or secondary screening test for pregnancies with an
increased risk for aneuploidy. This includes women who will be 35 years
of age or older at delivery, women with a prior personal or family
history of chromosome abnormalities, pregnancies that have received
abnormal biochemical screening results, and pregnancies showing
ultrasound abnormalities. Further asserting the importance of screening,
this new opinion follows ACOG's Practice Guidelines in 2007 which
recommended that the option of screening and invasive diagnostic testing
for aneuploidy be offered to all pregnant women, regardless of age.
Highly accurate biochemical screening results can be received as early
as 11 weeks gestation, through the current PerkinElmer
NTD Labs offering for Down syndrome and other chromosomal
abnormalities. The verifi® prenatal test can be considered
for women who have received high risk first trimester screening results
at PerkinElmer's NTD Labs early in the first trimester of pregnancy.
"Given our growing success with the verifi® prenatal test, we
are excited that PerkinElmer has chosen our advanced technology as their
NIPT offering," said Jeff Bird, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and
Executive Chairman at Verinata. "Collaborating with PerkinElmer provides
a great opportunity to not only offer expectant mothers greater access
to complete high quality screening and diagnostic tests, but to also
extend the verifi prenatal test to the over 160 million people who are
currently part of PerkinElmer's contracted managed care network."
Factors Affecting Future Performance
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the
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current assumptions and expectations and no assurances can be given that
our assumptions or expectations will prove to be correct. A number of
important risk factors could cause actual results to differ materially
from the results described, implied or projected in any forward-looking
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which we sell our products declining or not growing as anticipated; (2)
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failure to introduce new products in a timely manner; (4) our ability to
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integrate acquired businesses and licensed technologies into our
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Commission. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update any
forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after
the date of this press release.
About PerkinElmer
PerkinElmer, Inc. is a global leader focused on improving the health and
safety of people and the environment. The company reported revenue of
approximately $1.9 billion in 2011, has about 7,400 employees serving
customers in more than 150 countries, and is a component of the S&P 500
Index. Additional information is available through 1-877-PKI-NYSE, or at www.perkinelmer.com.
About the verifi® prenatal test
The verifi® prenatal test is a blood test that analyzes
genetic material (or DNA) naturally found in a pregnant woman's blood to
detect the most common fetal chromosome abnormalities. When directed by
a physician, the verifi® test can be offered to pregnant
women of at least 10 weeks gestation at high risk of carrying a fetus
with a genetic abnormality. For more information on the verifi®
test, please contact Verinata Health's Client Services at 1-855-266-6563
(BMOMKND).
About Verinata Health
Verinata Health, Inc. is driven by a sole, extraordinary purpose —
maternal and fetal health. Our initial focus is to develop and offer
non-invasive tests for early identification of fetal chromosomal
abnormalities using our proprietary technologies. We aim to reduce the
anxiety associated with today's multi-step process, the unacceptable
false-positive rates, the non-specific and sometimes confusing results
of current prenatal screening methods, as well as the risk of current
invasive procedures. We support national guidelines and the recent
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Committee Opinion recommending cell-free DNA
prenatal testing is one option that can be used as a primary or
secondary screening test in women at increased risk of aneuploidy. We
believe women who desire such testing should be offered a single blood
draw test with a definitive result. The verifi® prenatal test
is available in the United States through a physician. For more
information about Verinata, please go to www.verinata.com
Investor Relations:
PerkinElmer, Inc.
Tommy Thomas,
781-663-5889
tommy.thomas@perkinelmer.com
or
Media
Contacts:
Edelman (On behalf of PerkinElmer, Inc.)
Paul
Barren, 404-460-9679
paul.barren@edelman.com
or
PerkinElmer,
Inc.
Stephanie R. Wasco, 781-663-5701
stephanie.wasco@perkinelmer.com
or
Verinata
Health, Inc.
Angela Bitting, 925-202-6211
abitting@verinata.com
or
Brewlife
(On behalf of Verinata)
Denise Powell, 510-703-9491
dpowell@brewlife.com
Source: PerkinElmer, Inc.
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