LifeCodexx, a European non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) firm, has joined forces with preventive healthcare provider LifeCell to bring the novel PrenaTest qNIPT assay to India. The qNIPT test diagnoses fetal trisomy 21 using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and received CE marking in December 2016 after a validation study with close to 1,000 samples demonstrated 100% agreement between results from qNIPT and those based on next-generation sequencing, the company said. In India, PrenaTest will be serviced under LifeCell’s flagship brand BabyShield, which specializes in maternal and pediatric diagnostic services. “We are very pleased to have partnered with LifeCell since they have a long standing expertise in the field of preventive healthcare services for mother and child in the Indian market,” said Michael Lutz, PhD, CEO of LifeCodexx. “We are certain that our qNIPT technology will find a ready market in India due to its high cost-efficiency and rapid turnaround times, considering that India has a birth rate of over 25 million children per year.”