Do We Really Need an Even Better Prenatal Test for Down Syndrome?

The journal Clinical Proteomics recently published an article describing a new experimental prenatal test for Down syndrome that uses only a maternal urine sample. The test has been touted in the media as providing instant results with 90% accuracy. The promise of such a test – if it ever comes to market – is that women could administer it at home, early in pregnancy, with low cost.

Prenatal testing for Down syndrome and other aneuploidies is a rapidly advancing field. In the past few years, biotech companies have developed prenatal Down syndrome tests that detect cell-free fetal DNA in the pregnant woman’s blood. These tests have been dubbed “non-invasive prenatal tests” because they provide highly accurate results without having to resort to invasive tests such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, which carry a risk of miscarriage. The new urine test for Down syndrome, developed by the biotech firm MAP Diagnostics Ltd., is the latest advance in a “corporate arms race” to develop prenatal tests for Down syndrome that are accurate and less invasive, cheaper, easier to administer...