Reliance's Strand Life Sciences develops prenatal genomic diagnostics portfolio

Prenatal diagnosis can help detect Down Syndrome and other fetal abnormalities.

Reliance Industries Ltd’s life sciences unit has introduced its portfolio of prenatal diagnostics and screenings, including MaatriSeq for non-invasive prenatal screening and CNSeq for diagnosing aneuploidies, a genetic disorder.

These advancements are customised to meet the requirements of the Indian population and provide precision, economy, and efficiency, according to a release by Strand Life Sciences.

“Strand is at the forefront of advanced genomic solutions and continues to redefine standards in genetic diagnostics. With these innovations, Strand wants to contribute to the efforts of the Indian government to reduce the burden of rare diseases in India,” said Ramesh Hariharan, CEO and co-founder of Strand Life Sciences.

CNSeq incorporates the most recent sequencing technology in prenatal tests. It outperforms conventional cytogenetic and molecular approaches in identifying copy number variations (CNVs) with precision because of its patented software.

MaatriSeq, which provides accurate and affordable solutions in India, is the first non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) solution validated on the most recent high throughput Illumina TM NovaSeq TM X Plus sequencing platform. When it comes to detecting foetal chromosomal abnormalities, MaatriSeq outperforms other methods in terms of sensitivity and specificity, according to the release.

India has the highest rate of Down Syndrome, with one in 830 births affected, according to the Down Syndrome Federation of India. Prenatal diagnosis can help detect Down Syndrome and other fetal abnormalities.
While routine screening tests remain an option for many expectant parents, they unfortunately have lower detection rates and higher false positives.

Sequencing-based NIPS has superior accuracy, early detection, and safety advantages, especially for high-risk individuals. American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) strongly recommends NIPS over traditional screening methods for all pregnant women with singleton and twin gestations for fetal trisomies 21, 18, and 13, the press release said.

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