27 January 2016 – Premaitha Health signs two new customers for its clinical laboratory NIPT screening service

Issued on behalf of Premaitha Health plc
Manchester, UK: Wednesday, 27 January 2016

Premaitha Health signs two new customers for its clinical laboratory NIPT screening service

Manchester, UK – 27 January 2016 – Premaitha Health PLC (AIM: NIPT, “Premaitha” or the “Company”), developer of the IONA® test, the first CE-marked non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPT) product has signed two new service contracts with customers in Armenia and Republic of Moldova. These contracts expand Premaitha’s customer base into new international markets, enabling more pregnant women to benefit from the safety and accuracy of NIPT.

Dr Stephen Little, CEO of Premaitha said: “We are pleased to see our international footprint increase as demand for NIPT using the IONA® test grows. The high clinical standards and excellent customer support offered by Premaitha’s screening services team, coupled with the proven performance of the IONA® test means that we are able to provide pregnant women with the best possible screening test.”

Premaitha initiated its Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered NIPT screening service in July 2015 and in October opened a dedicated facility in response to customer demand for the IONA® test. The laboratory provides a routine NIPT screening service for many of its customers as well as an interim solution for those keen to start offering NIPT whilst establishing their own IONA® laboratory in-house.

-Ends-

For more information, please contact:
    
Premaitha Health PLC
Dr Stephen Little, Chief Executive Officer
Joanne Cross,  Head of Marketing    

Tel: +44 (0) 161 667 1053
investors@premaitha.com

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (NOMAD)
Liam Murray / Avi Robinson    

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7148 7900

Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Broker)
Robert Naylor (Corporate Finance) / Maisie Atkinson (Sales)    

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500

Instinctif Partners (Media)
Melanie Toyne Sewell / Jen Lewis    

Tel: +44 (0) 207 457  2020
premaitha@instinctif.com  

About Premaitha Health

Premaitha is an innovative molecular diagnostics company employing the latest advances in DNA analysis technology to develop tests for non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPT) and other applications. Premaitha’s flagship product, the IONA® test is the first non-invasive in vitro diagnostic product for prenatal screening enabling clinical laboratories to offer CE-marked NIPT in-house for the first time.  

The IONA® test estimates the risk of a fetus having Down’s syndrome or other serious genetic diseases. The IONA® test has a higher detection rate and lower false positive rate than existing screening tests, giving pregnant women, their families and their doctors greater confidence in the result and reducing the need for unnecessary invasive follow-up tests and the associated anxiety and stress. The IONA® test is a complete diagnostic system that is simple and standardised, enabling Premaitha’s clinical laboratory customers to perform the test in their own facilities. This supports Premaitha’s strategy of accelerating the broad dissemination of NIPT tests to ensure that their benefits are available to pregnant women everywhere.  

Premaitha is listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM). Its R&D, manufacturing and commercial operation is located at Manchester Science Park, UK. For further information please visit www.premaitha.com or email iona@premaitha.com