Cyprus start-up markets Down’s syndrome test

A revolutionary non-invasive prenatal diagnostic test for Down’s Syndrome is now available from NIPD Genetics Ltd., a start-up company created by the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics in 2010.

The test for Down’s Syndrome, or trisomy 21, a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21, was discovered in 2011 by researchers under Professor Philippos Patsalis, then General Director of the Institute of Neurology and Genetics and presently Minister of Health.

The Veracity Test, as it is called, is an innovative prenatal test that can provide all pregnant women, at very low cost, with high accuracy and reliability, but also without any risk to the fetus, a noninvasive prenatal screening for the syndrome, trisomy 18, trisomy 13, monosomy X and the sex of the fetus.

The non-invasive prenatal test Veracity can be provided to every pregnant woman, in Cyprus and abroad, who wants to know early during her pregnancy if her child has Down’s syndrome or other genetic disorders.

Its greatest advantage is that the test does not put the pregnancy or the life of the fetus at any risk.

The test is 100% safe for the health of the mother and for the life of the fetus, unlike invasive methods of prenatal diagnosis, such as amniocentesis and CVS, which can cause miscarriage in 1-2% of the cases.

The Veracity test can be used any time after the tenth week of pregnancy. The results of any blood test (from all over the world) will be analysed in the company’s laboratories in Nicosia and sent back to the doctor.

NIPD Genetics put the test on the market this week and expressed belief that it will soon be adopted around the world as part of the pregnancy care.

The company is a privately held start-up company aiming to design, develop and manufacture non-invasive in vitro diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of genetic diseases and syndromes during the early stages of pregnancy.