The new firm will offer target enrichment assays for clinical NGS testing and develop library preparation kits for clinical tests on Illumina's sequencing platform.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Columbia University found that almost all blood samples from pregnant women tested contained several trophoblasts.
The company said it will use the proceeds to increase commercialization of its PreTRM test, a blood biomarker test to determine the risk of premature delivery.
The company processed more than 200,000 tests during the quarter, an increase of 20 percent compared to the 167,000 tests it processed in Q3 of last year.
The company also said that it has acquired Beijing-based food safety testing firm Meizheng Group. The deal is expected to expand PerkinElmer's food safety capabilities.
The companies plan to explore opportunities to use Thermo Fisher's LC-MS instrumentation to develop tools to determine the risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Starting in late 2020, public health insurance is expected to pay for NIPT if a trisomy is suspected and this constitutes an "unacceptable burden" for the pregnant woman.
PWNHealth will provide physician oversight and genetic counseling for Picture Genetics, a new line of three genetic tests from Fulgent aimed at consumers.
