Expectant parents in Europe will soon have access to leading prenatal testing kits that are widely utilised in Australia to diagnose a range of life quality impacting diseases, including Down Syndrome, courtesy of biotech company Genetic Technologies (ASX: GTG) expanding their test kit distribution into Europe.
Mothers-to-be typically perform a Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) any time from the 10 week mark of pregnancy where a small amount of DNA is drawn from the mother to undertake chromosomal testing. The sample can then identify the presence of certain chromosomal abnormalities where such presences are indicators of conditions that include Down Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome, Patau Syndrome and Turner Syndrome – all conditions that will impact the baby’s quality of life.
Already providers of NIPT tests in Australia, Genetic Technologies has confirmed they will be expanding distribution of their NIPT services into Europe, the world’s second largest healthcare market via their recently acquired EasyDNA business.
“These incremental growth initiatives being undertaken by the EasyDNA team are exciting and expand the Company’s direct-to-consumer offering to new markets and channels ensuring GTG’s continuous revenue growth,” said Genetic Technologies CEO, Simon Morriss.
The expansion of their NIPT services come at a time when informed parenthood decision making is raging debated across the United States which has sparked a global discussion about abortion laws and women’s rights.
While such a discussion is not localised to genetic testing, the ethical qualms around genetic testing leading to abortion plays a small role in abortion discussions given chromosomal testing also identifies traits that do not impact life quality, such as gender.
This debate however, is not one that Genetic Technologies plays a role in given global discussions centre around informed decision making.
Access to genetic information and testing kits is becoming so readily available that the role of eCommerce is rising in the sector where test kits can simply be purchased online. In under-developed markets, this is hugely popular due to the expense and accessibility of medical professionals.
Because of this, Genetic Technologies has been making steady inroads into the eCommerce distribution market as evidenced by their acquisition of AffinityDNA for £555,000 in May 2022 which sells DNA test kits via a network of websites, including Amazon. Once received via post, AffinityDNA tests are performed via an oral swab that can then be sent back to a laboratory that will then respond with test results communicated to customers by email.
While NIPT tests cannot be performed via post, they are just one product in the EasyDNA portfolio which sells DNA test kids across more than 70 websites in 40 countries.
For the half year ended 31 December 2021, Genetic Technologies reported $2.05 million in revenue which was a huge lift on the $16k in the previous year, boosted primarily by EasyDNA which was acquired in July 2021 for USD $4 million.
Alfred Chan is a Business Reporter at The Sentiment specialising in ASX-listed small cap companies, a bloodstock enthusiast and former equities analyst.
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