NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Premaitha Health announced today that it has signed an agreement with Ampath group to offer Premaitha’s Iona test in South Africa, where the UK firm has selected Barker Medical as its distributor.
Premaitha's Iona noninvasive prenatal test predicts a fetus' risk of having genetic conditions such as Down's syndrome. Clinicians perform the test on a maternal blood sample, which contains traces of fetal DNA, and analyze the sample using next-generation DNA sequencing.
Ampath will install an NIPT center at its national reference laboratory in the Gauteng province, which will service major cities including Johannesburg.
Premaitha believes Ampath will be among the first laboratories in South Africa to offer a CE-IVD accredited NIPT system and will act as a hub, offering services to its national network of hospitals and clinics.
"South Africa is another strategically important region as we build our global footprint and further de-risk our business," Premaitha CEO Stephen Little said in a statement.