DNA Advanced Medicine Co., Ltd.
Providing NIPT Services to Hospitals

DNA Advanced Medicine offers support for NIPT testing to medical facilities in Japan. The company’s wide range of services includes contracts with laboratories, supply of materials, and logistics of samples. Simply put, hospitals can start NIPT testing once they sign a contract with DNA Advanced Medicine.

The clients DNA Advanced Medicine is supporting are unique as they are not recognized by the guidelines, primarily those of the Japan Medical Association. The Japanese guidelines have many excessive restrictions, and appropriate services are not being delivered to pregnant women.

“We have created an environment in which they can receive services with safety and security and provide this service to hospitals,” says Shinichi Kurihara, DNA Advanced Medicine.

DNA Advanced Medicine has a reservation desk for NIPT at the medical facilities they support. The company manages NIPT appointments and correspondence regarding questions about NIPT from pregnant women. The blood is then collected at the supporting hospital, and the company manages the logistics, such as ensuring they reach the laboratories properly and enabling reported test results provisioning.

In the case of a pending test result, DNA Advanced Medicine will first contact the clients. The company will then promptly take another blood sample to perform a different test. There is no additional charge for this. In most cases, DNA Advanced Medicine will be able to provide proper test results. If the second test does not give normal results, a third test will be performed as soon as possible.

“We proactively encourage pregnant women who have a positive result to consult with our consultation service. We employ certified genetic counselors, who have knowledge of genetics and Japanese social welfare system, as well as the ability to provide psychological care,” says Kurihara.

DNA Advanced Medicines believes that by knowing the condition of a pregnant woman’s fetus before giving birth, pregnant women are able to prepare for any abnormalities that may occur. As a result, they will be able to consider older pregnancies more positively and have an impact on the declining birth rate in Japan.

In Japan, the NIPT test is not well known. Many people do not even know that the test exists. This is due to the fact that the Japan Medical Association and other guidelines place many restrictions on the facilities that can perform the test. DNA Advanced Medicines is not restricted by these guidelines and supports medical facilities so that they can conduct reliable and secure examinations. The company now supports more than 100 medical facilities, and a significant number of pregnant women are receiving care at those facilities.

We have created an environment in which they can receive services with safety and security and provide this service to hospitals

DNA Advanced Medicines’ mission is to create a system in Japan that allows any pregnant woman to undergo the test with safety and security. To make NIPT available to all pregnant women who wish to receive it, the company has increased convenience for pregnant women by first establishing collaborative facilities throughout Japan. The company has removed the cancellation fee—that is charged by non-certified facilities in the case of cancellation of reservations—at its supported facilities. Further, it also covers the entire cost of the amniotic fluid test as a definitive diagnosis.

The bottom line is to create an environment where pregnant women can undergo NIPT at ease in facilities that are not restricted by guidelines, and that’s where DNA Advanced Medicines excels.