NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – LifeCodexx and Charité–University Medicine Berlin announced today that they have partnered to develop an assay for the early detection of preeclampsia.
The planned test will be based on LifeCodexx's methylation-specific quantitative PCR technology, which exploits the different methylation profiles of maternal and fetal DNA found in maternal plasma. The company recently received CE marking for a version of its PrenaTest fetal trisomy 21 assay based on the technology.
LifeCodexx said it has already developed a qPCR assay that can distinguish between patients with and without preeclampsia in collaboration with University Hospital Wuerzburg. By working with Charité, it aims to refine the test to predict preeclampsia at an early stage of pregnancy.
The company expects to launch the new assay "within the coming year," LifeCodexx CEO Michael Lutz said in a statement.