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Natera Snags Prenatal Test Distributor for Spain

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The prenatal genetic testing firm Natera said today that it has signed up Echevarne, a clinical analysis lab based in Barcelona, to offer its non-invasive prenatal screening test for chromosomal abnormalities to customers in Spain.

Under the distribution agreement, Echevarne's lab will offer the Natera Panorama test, which identifies trisomies 13, 18, and 21, as well as some sex chromosome abnormalities, to detect disorders like Down, Patau, Edwards, and Turner syndromes.

The blood-based Panorama test, which Natera launched in March, examines cell-free DNA and uses the company's NATUS algorithm to analyze 19,500 SNPs isolated from the mother's blood.

The company said the test has a 99 percent or greater sensitivity for trisomies 13, 18, and 21, and it can be performed as early as nine weeks into pregnancy.

Echevarne has facilities in hospital labs across Spain and in Portugal.

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