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Thermo Fisher, Predictive Labs Collaborate on Infertility Genetics Research

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Thermo Fisher Scientific said today that it has entered into a global research collaboration with infertility genetics firm Predictive Laboratories, a wholly owned subsidiary of Predictive Technology Group.

Under the collaboration, Predictive Labs will implement various Thermo Fisher reproductive health offerings, including the Applied Biosystems CarrierScan assay, Ion ReproSeq PGS assay, CytoScan Dx assay, and Ion AmpliSeq Exome RDY for whole-exome sequencing.

"Infertility among women who seek to conceive has become an increasingly common condition, which leads to much frustration and financial burden as they seek alternative solutions," Predictive Technology Group CEO Bradley Robinson said in a statement. "Our collaboration with Thermo Fisher brings together our innovative research and development capabilities with market-leading next-generation sequencing technology to better understand the genetics of infertility for future development of a diagnostic solution."

One area of particular focus for the effort will be untangling the genetic basis of endometriosis, which is considered a leading cause of infertility in women. Tools to identify which cases of the condition lead to infertility and which do not could help direct early intervention and personalized treatment planning that may result in fewer cycles to achieve a successful pregnancy, the companies said.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

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