Yourgene Health Launches LightBench Detect for Fetal Fraction Enrichment
Yourgene Health Launches LightBench Detect for
Fetal Fraction Enrichment
- Offers flexibility in blood collection tube choice enabling cost-effective workflows in non-invasive prenatal testing
- Scalable and precise DNA size selection reduces no-call rates for improved patient outcomes
Manchester, UK, 20 June 2022: Yourgene Health plc (“Yourgene”, AIM: YGEN), a leading international molecular diagnostics group, announces today the launch of the LightBench® Detect, the latest addition to its Ranger® Technology instrumentation portfolio at the 26th International Conference on Prenatal Diagnosis and Therapy (ISPD). The Company has worked closely with its clinical laboratory partners to develop size selection methodologies optimised for improving the performance of liquid biopsy workflows, most notably non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). The LightBench Detect helps NIPT providers to reduce no-call rates by optimising average fetal fraction. Leveraging the unique size selection capabilities of Ranger Technology, the LightBench Detect also enables laboratories to consider the use of EDTA blood collection tubes (BCTs) instead of expensive specialised preservation blood collection tubes (BCT) in their workflows to help reduce overall costs.
The LightBench Detect is a clinical-grade 3-in-1 electrophoretic instrument offering liquid biopsy and NIPT laboratories the ability to automate the process of DNA size selection and enrichment from samples stored for prolonged periods in EDTA BCTs. This core capability is complemented by the ability to perform fragment length analysis and fluorescence assays for quality control purposes. Cell free DNA (cfDNA) fragments of fetal origin are typically <150bp in length, meaning size selection using the instrument can enrich for fetal fraction to reduce the number of no-call results or screening failures, helping improve overall patient outcomes. Use of the technology in NIPT offers scalable and precise DNA size selection and achieves >97% reproducibility, ensuring consistent enrichment of the fetal fraction.
The use of this patent-pending, EDTA-enabling, technology will be presented by the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval*. The group worked with Yourgene to compare fetal fraction in 61 samples collected from singleton pregnancies in Vancouver over a two-month period. Samples stored in the expensive BCTs had fetal fractions below 4% (a common pass/fail threshold) 12% of the time, while samples stored in inexpensive EDTA tubes had zero cases of fetal fraction below 4% when paired with size selection. A low fetal fraction in NIPT will result in a no result and potentially a re-draw blood sample from the pregnant mother. They demonstrated that Ranger Technology offers an alternative solution to the use of expensive BCTs for stabilising NIPT samples. Yourgene has now made this capability accessible to the market via the LightBench Detect.
Lyn Rees, CEO of Yourgene Health, said: “Every once in a while, a technology comes along that has the potential to disrupt standard clinical testing workflows and make real improvements, both to the test performance and the economics and efficiencies of a test. Working with Université Laval has enabled us to deliver the LightBench Detect, which radically improves efficiencies by giving labs flexibility of choice around the blood collection tube they use without impacting performance. We are so excited to roll out this capability to other NIPT providers.”
For further information about the LightBench Detect, visit: https://www.yourgene-health.com/lightbench-detect
Yourgene will be attending the ISPD in Montreal, Canada from 19–23 June 2022. Visit booth #205 to learn more.
*Daryabari et al., Improving fetal fraction in NIPT by size-selection of samples collected in EDTA gel tubes [Poster presented at ISPD 2022 P-88]
Yourgene Health
Jo Cross
Tel: +44 (0)7587 140 199
Email: joanne.cross@yourgene-health.com
Zyme Communications
Dr Michelle Ricketts
Tel: +44 (0)7789 053 885
Email: michelle.ricketts@zymecommunications.com
About Yourgene Health
Yourgene Health is an international molecular diagnostics group which develops and commercialises genetic products and services. The group works in partnership with global leaders in DNA technology to advance diagnostic science.
Yourgene primarily develops, manufactures, and commercialises simple and accurate molecular diagnostic solutions, for reproductive health, precision medicine and now infectious diseases. The Group’s flagship products include non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT) for Down Syndrome and other genetic disorders, Cystic Fibrosis screening tests, invasive rapid aneuploidy tests, and a recent extension into the oncology space with DPYD genotyping.
The launch of Yourgene Genomic Services has enabled Yourgene to offer a global laboratory service network equipped to be a full life-cycle partner for clinical, research and pharmaceutical organisations to support partners at the preclinical, clinical, and post-market stages to develop, manufacture, obtain regulatory approval and commercialise new products and services. In addition, Yourgene Genomic Services offers an NIPT and high throughput COVID testing service.
In August 2020, Yourgene acquired Coastal Genomics, Inc., a sample preparation technology company based in Vancouver, Canada, enabling the Company to extend its offering and IP portfolio in the DNA sample preparation sector. The acquisition increased Yourgene’s geographical penetration into the US and Canada, supplementing existing coverage in the UK, Europe, MEA and Asia.
Yourgene Health is headquartered in Manchester, UK with offices in Taipei, Singapore, the US and Canada, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market under the ticker "YGEN". For more information visit www.yourgene-health.com and follow us on Twitter @Yourgene_Health and LinkedIn: Yourgene Health
