Illumina Stakes A Claim In NIPT Market With $450-Million Acquisition Of Verinata

Gene-sequencing technology company Illumina Inc. announuced a definitive agreement in early January to acquire Verinata Health Inc., a leading competitor in the noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) market, for $350 million up front plus up to $100 million in milestone payments through 2015. The move bolsters Illumina’s position in the growing reproductive health space, and it follows Illumina’s September 2012 acquisition of UK-based BlueGnome Ltd., a leading player in the markets for in vitro fertilization (IVF) preimplantation genetic screening and pediatric genetic-abnormality testing.

Verinata is one of four major players in the fast-growing NIPT field, which also includes market leader Sequenom Inc., along with and Natera Inc. NIPT analyzes fragments of cell-free DNA (including fetal DNA) present in a pregnant woman’s blood and uses sophisticated algorithms to determine the fetus’ risk of having a chromosomal abnormality