ACOG Guidelines Recommend NIPT for All Pregnancies Regardless of Risk

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued a new set of guidelines, recommending that prenatal aneuploidy screening be offered to all pregnant people regardless of their age or other risk factors.

Although the document endorses multiple methods — both the traditional serum protein screen with or without nuchal translucency ultrasound and the newer generation of cell-free DNA-based non-invasive tests — ACOG specifically stated in the new guidelines that cfDNA assays, known as non-invasive prenatal tests, offer superior sensitivity and specificity.

Natera initially began offering its test to average-risk women several years ago and published a large study showing high performance last year. Nevertheless, the company and its competitors have struggled to persuade private payors to cover tests in this broader population.

“This new bulletin changes everything. It should make the payers fall in line and lead to physicians actively recommending NIPT to all patients,” Nowak wrote.

Steven Mah of investment bank Piper Sandler echoed the same takeaway for the larger NIPT field, calling the ACOG decision the “long-anticipated endorsement” that Natera, Progenity, Myriad, Illumina, and others have been waiting many years for.

Source: https://www.genomeweb.com/molecular-diagnostics/acog-guidelines-recommend-nipt-all-pregnancies-regardless-risk