CellScape (Newark, Calif.) is poised to enter the rapidly growing noninvasive prenatal diagnostics market in the second half of 2014 with its Clarity Prenatal Test. Unlike other currently marketed tests, Clarity relies on whole fetal cells and targeted microarray technology to detect roughly 30 chromosomal abnormalities (microdeletion/insertion syndromes) beyond common aneuploidies (Trisomies 21, 18, and 13), making the tests’ results capabilities the closest to invasive testing like amniocentesis, the gold standard, in terms of genetic coverage. Acknowledging a competitive market space and reimbursement challenges, CellScape has strategically positioned itself with its patented fetal cell separation methodology, enabling the company to initially enter the market by partnering with existing reference and academic labs. DTET recently spoke with CellScape’s CEO Ted Snelgrove, who joined the company in July, and co-founder and executive chair Karen Drexler regarding the development and launch of Clarity as well as the future of noninvasive prenatal testing. What differentiates CellScape’s approach from other companies’ in the noninvasive testing space? Drexler: We had looked at the other approaches and what everybody else had attempted to do in this field. Because our team is an engineering team, rather than out of traditional biology, we took a very different approach. The […]