Biotech firm shrugs off patent battle to market screening test in East Asia

Manchester biotech company Premaitha Health has shrugged off the disappointment of an adverse judgement in its multi-million pound patent battle in the UK with US company Illumina over its non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) to forge a new agreement in East Asia.

In today’s announcement the company has stopped referring to the test, which detects Down’s syndrome and other genetic disorders in unborn children, as IONA.

The new partner is a private reference laboratory, which will provide the screening solution to its network of hospitals and clinics in the region.

The installation of the laboratory is set to be completed in early 2018. The partner will be operating in an already established NIPT market with attractive market dynamics and growth prospects.

The NIPT is being introduced in the territory through Yourgene Bioscience, which was acquired by Premaitha in March.

It allows clinicians and laboratories to offer customised screening from full clinical service through to local laboratory set-ups with remote cloud-based NIPT analysis.

Premaitha chief executive Dr Stephen Little said: “The new international territory for Premaitha, provides entry into another high growth market for NIPT.

“Despite the judgment, the impact of which is limited to the UK, we continue to expand Premaitha’s footprint through our geographic diversification strategy into territories unaffected by Illumina’s patents.”

A High Court ruling delivered on Tuesday (November 21) has deemed the IONA test infringed the company Illumina Inc’s patent in “certain respects”.

Premaitha is intending to seek leave to appeal the judgement at a later hearing.