Sequenom shares jump after new DS test data announced
September 24th, 2008From Associated Press, CNN, company press release, Fox News:
Shares of Sequenom Inc., a San Diego biotech company, rose again sharply in premarket trading today after the company announced new results on a prenatal test for Down syndrome that relies on a sample of the mother’s blood.
The company announced yesterday that its SEQureDx test detected Down syndrome accurately in the first and second trimester of pregnancy in about 200 tests with no false positives or false negatives, matching earlier data from another 200 samples. The company said it hopes to bring the test to market next summer.
Shares jumped $3.39, or 16.5 percent, to $23.95 from $20.56 during premarket training.
Presently available noninvasive prenatal screening methods for Down syndrome can only tell women the statistical risk that their fetus has Down syndrome, but do not offer a conclusive diagnosis of individual pregnancies. Presently, women must undergo amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling in order to know for sure whether the baby they are carrying has Down syndrome. Amnio and CVS are invasive techniques that both carry a small but significant risk of miscarriage.
Analysts hailed Sequenom’s announcement, with Lazard Capital Markets analyst Sean Lavin raising his price target to $44 per share, up from $34. The company’s stock was trading at around $5 before the announcement of the new technology earlier this year.
The market for prenatal testing is estimated to have multi-billion dollar potential.
See earlier posts here.
See the company’s share price here.
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November 20th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Anyone terminating a pregnancy simply because a diagnostic test reveals Down syndrome may miss one of the greatest joys of a life time. Those of us with family members who have Down syndrome know the world is a better place when they are present. Those who do not have this vantage point are often misinformed by the myths and misconceptions about the syndrome. While I fear that Sequenom’s new test has the potential to increase the termination rate of an amazing group of people, my hope is that this test will give couples a larger window of time to inform themselves about the truth about Down syndrome. Help spread the word through the “We Are More Alike Than Different” awareness campaign by the National Down Syndrome Congress.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
This makes me sad. I get google alerts for Ds, and have gotten several messages from investment companies who are just ecstatic over the potential to make money on this test. Unbelievable that people can be so cold.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:00 am
That is sad.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I can’t believe the desperate attempts to do away with our kids. These families will miss out on what their child will teach them, and really understanding real love. Chromosomal Eugenics is all that it is! I thought we’ve learned from our history lessons that this is wrong. God help us!