Frost & Sullivan: Five Million Pregnancies Every Year Represents a Large Market for Prenatal Tests in the United States

The desire to have healthy babies and the availability of fetal treatment options encourages parents-to-be to request prenatal tests

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Nov. 18, 2011 – Prenatal testing for fetal defects will become critical as the risk of chromosomal abnormality increases with maternal age and women are commonly delaying motherhood. Prenatal microarray detects serious chromosomal abnormalities at a resolution that surpasses that of traditional karyotyping. While prenatal microarray still requires an invasive procedure such as an amniocentesis, pregnant women will have non-invasive prenatal diagnostics available to them in the near future.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan’s (http://www.clinicaldiagnostics.frost.com) Strategic Analysis of the U.S. Prenatal Testing Market research finds that the market earned revenues of $1.28 billion in 2010 and estimates this to reach $1.59 billion in 2017. In this research, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the following markets: maternal serum screen, nuchal translucency (NT) ultrasound, karyotype, prenatal fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and prenatal chromosomal array.

If you are interested in more information on this research, please send an email to Britni Myers, Corporate Communications, at britni.myers@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company email address, company Web site, city, state and country.

“Chromosomal abnormalities and other birth defects contribute to infant mortality in the United States and, therefore, early detection is important for healthy pregnancies and births,” said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Winny Tan, Ph.D. “New prenatal screening options with improved detection rates for Down Syndrome have been effective in stratifying at-risk patients and lowering the number of invasive procedures for further diagnostic testing.”

Currently, the compliance rate for prenatal care is suboptimal. Individual attitudes that reflect religious beliefs or personal values help to explain why only 60 percent to 70 percent of pregnant women in the United States receive prenatal care. To increase compliance rates for prenatal care, test providers must focus on patient outreach, healthcare access and test reimbursement.

“For instance, the number of NT ultrasounds grew by 30 percent when the current procedural terminology (CPT) codes for the prenatal procedures were established,” said Tan. “Additionally, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' (ACOG) practice guidelines has influenced obstetricians and insurance companies to reimburse certain tests and procedures.”

Apart from patient-centric efforts, test providers must understand the demographic segmentation of their patients and expand their sales force and team of genetic counselors in pockets with high patient concentration.

“Prenatal diagnostic markets hold potential for sequencing technologies in the next decade, particularly in non-invasive prenatal diagnostics,” said Tan. “Understanding the current dynamics of the U.S. prenatal market will help determine the strongest applications for new technologies in this space.”

Strategic Analysis of the U.S. Prenatal Testing Market is part of the Clinical Diagnostics Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: U.S. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnostics Market, U.S. Inherited Disease Molecular Diagnostics Market, EU Fetal and Neonatal Monitoring Equipment Market, and Advances in Fetal and Neonatal Diagnostics and Monitoring. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

Strategic Analysis of the U.S. Prenatal Testing Market
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Contact:
Britni Myers
Corporate Communications – North America
P: 210.477.8481
F: 210.348.1003
E: britni.myers@frost.com

http://www.frost.com

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

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Britni Myers
Corporate Communications
britni.myers@frost.com
210-477-8481

This release was published on openPR.