$450 million deal for privately owned US firm Verinata Health, which makes chromosomal tests

Gene sequencing company Illumina has struck a $450 million (£280 million) deal to buy privately owned US firm Verinata Health, which specialises in non-invasive tests for early identification of foetal chromosomal abnormalities.

The deal follows the collapse of Roche’s $5.7 billion hostile bid for Illumina in early 2012 – which the company rejected. It also follows Illumina’s acquisition of BlueGnome, a University of Cambridge spinout that has developed a test for counting chromosomes in a cell.

Illumina will pay $350 million up front, plus up to $100 million in milestone payments.

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