Prenatal test market soars on new tech

For years, the maternal medicine industry has been waiting for a test that can accurately screen fetuses for genetic conditions, without the need for an invasive amniocentesis.
“Everyone’s told me it’s the holy grail of prenatal testing,” said Winny Tan, an analyst at Mountain View-based Frost & Sullivan.
Now, the holy grail is here. A slew of companies, including some local ones, are beginning to commercialize their products and raise substantial amounts of funding to create simple blood tests to detect conditions such as Down syndrome. The tests could someday replace amniocentesis procedures, which carry a risk of miscarriage. It’s also creating a competitive space in a $1.3 billion prenatal testing market.