Premaitha welcomes decision to allow non-invasive prenatal tests on NHS

31st Oct 2016 11:32

(ShareCast News) - AIM-listed molecular diagnostics company Premaitha Health, a developer of a prenatal screening system, said on Friday it welcomed the decision by the Department of Health to make non-invasive prenatal tests routinely available on the NHS to high risk pregnant women.With the availability of a "safer and highly accurate" non-invasive blood test on the NHS, the company said it is likely to result in a reduction in the number of women undergoing invasive procedures.Current testing for genetic disorders is done through a combined test, which the company said is less accurate than non-invasive prenatal tests, which results in women who are incorrectly assessed as being 'at risk' for foetal anomalies choosing to undergo an invasive diagnostic procedure, such as amniocentesis, which carries a risk of miscarriage.Chief executive Dr Stephen Little said the company looks forward to continuing to work with the NHS to make its IONA test, which is already offered in over 50 NHS institutions, more widely available."We hope that the NHS will seek to adopt only non-invasive prenatal tests solutions of the highest certificated quality and that, in time, non-invasive prenatal tests will be available to all women on the NHS and not just those perceived to be at the highest risk."The National Screening Committee's recommended in January that non-invasive prenatal tests should be freely available on the NHS, as part of the foetal anomaly screening programme to women with a higher risk of their baby developing Down's, Edwards' or Patau's syndrome.Shares in Premaitha Health were up 9.45% to 10.12p at 1131 GMT.