Sequenom, Inc announced the launch of the SensiGene Fetal(XY) (Fetal Sex Determination) test by Sequenom's CAP accredited and CLIA-certified laboratory, Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine (Sequenom CMM). This is the company's second laboratory developed test powered by its SEQureDx technology.

The benefits of the SensiGene Fetal(XY) (Fetal Sex Determination) test includes noninvasive and safe -- The test requires only a simple blood sample from the mother; early detection - first trimester fetal sex determination; highly specific - allows the distinction between maternal and fetal DNA for both male and female foetuses; and physician-ordered.

"The launch of the SensiGene Fetal(XY) test represents another successful noninvasive prenatal test demonstrating the utility of using maternal blood to determine fetal status," said Lee P Shulman, professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and chief of the Division of Clinical Genetics at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. "This is a great leap forward in delivering a test with a high degree of accuracy, using cutting-edge technology which has been rigorously evaluated through blinded studies, performed in collaboration with internationally recognized prenatal diagnosticians. This test adds to the physicians' prenatal diagnostic arsenal by providing for safe and accurate noninvasive fetal testing."

"I am very excited about the launch of the SensiGene Fetal(XY) test," added Shawn M Marcell, vice president, molecular diagnostics. "Being able to offer physicians an advanced molecular diagnostic test with excellent performance is an important step in helping their patients focus on the positive nature of their pregnancy. Offering this test through a physicians' office should give mothers confidence in the test and assist doctors in the care of their patients."

The new SensiGene Fetal(XY) test is designed to detect circulating cell-free fetal (ccff) DNA in maternal blood.

Sequenom's proprietary MassARRAY system is a high performance matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry-based nucleic acid analysis platform that quantitatively measures genetic target material and its variations in a rapid, accurate, and cost efficient manner.

Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine, a CAP accredited and CLIA-certified molecular diagnostics laboratory, is developing a full range of advanced prenatal diagnostics.

Sequenom is a life sciences company committed to improving healthcare through revolutionary genetic analysis solutions.