Sera Prognostics, Inc., a women's health company developing diagnostic tests for early prediction of preterm birth and other pregnancy complications, today announced that preliminary analyses of data from a second study of predictive preterm birth biomarkers generally confirmed researchers' earlier results and were able to identify up to 92 percent of pregnant women who went on to have a preterm birth. Results from this second study were presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting held in San Francisco. Sera has licensed the novel peptide biomarkers used in the study.
A previous blinded, case-controlled study demonstrated that three novel peptides, in combination with additional biomarkers, were highly predictive of preterm birth risk when tested at 24 and 28 weeks of gestation. That initial study was recently published online in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378%2810%2901167-1/abstract). Both preterm birth studies were performed using blood samples and other clinical data collected during the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network Preterm Prediction Study.
"The current analyses from the second study strongly support the previous findings that these novel peptides may help physicians identify women at risk for preterm birth prior to any observable symptoms, and allow physicians to make more informed decisions about treatments to manage and potentially extend at-risk pregnancies," said Steven W. Graves, Ph.D., co-author and presenter of the study for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network. "By identifying preterm birth risk earlier in a pregnancy, physicians and their patients may have greater opportunity to implement treatments and manage their care to reduce the risk of serious health complications and lower the significant cost of care for both mother and baby."
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