World Economic Forum Selects Natera as 2014 Technology Pioneer

Natera, a leading innovator in prenatal genetic testing, has been selected by the World Economic Forum as a 2014 Technology Pioneer. The recognition is based on Natera's innovation in prenatal care, including developing the non-invasive prenatal screening test, Panorama?, for the detection of trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) and the sex chromosome abnormality monosomy X (Turner syndrome).

Natera has a history of leadership and innovation in reproductive genetics, including being the first to offer multiple different tests on the SNP microarray platform: 24- chromosome pre-implantation genetic screening and diagnosis during in-vitro fertilization (IVF); products-of-conception testing following miscarriage with detection of maternal cell contamination; and non-invasive prenatal testing to determine paternity. Natera also offers carrier screening tests for prospective parents and the Panorama non-invasive prenatal test for aneuploidy. Natera was the only molecular diagnostics company among the companies selected for the award.

"We are honored to join this prestigious group of companies that have made tremendous impacts in the world," said Matthew Rabinowitz, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Natera. "Our goal from the start has been to provide expecting parents with the most accurate information possible about their fetus early in the pregnancy. We find physicians around the world are eager to work with us to bring this test to their patients, and we are committed to meeting this demand while continuing to explore the full potential for this technology."

Panorama uses a simple blood draw from the mother, examines cell-free DNA found in maternal blood originating from both mother and fetus, and can be performed within the first trimester of pregnancy, as early as nine weeks, without any risk to the fetus. Panorama's technology analyzes, in a single reaction, approximately 19,500 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which are the most informative portions of an individual's DNA. It utilizes the Next-generation Aneuploidy Testing Using SNPs algorithm, an advanced version of Natera's proprietary informatics.

Across multiple clinical trials, Panorama has been validated globally for trisomy 21, trisomy 18, trisomy 13 and monosomy X with a sensitivity of greater than 99% for trisomy 21, trisomy 18 and trisomy 13, 92% for monosomy X and a less than 0.1% false positive rate for all syndromes tested. Panorama's clinical validation data was presented at the annual Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine Meeting on Feb. 15, 2013. The most recent independently led blinded study was published in May 2013 in Prenatal Diagnosis from author Professor Nicolaides and The Fetal Medicine Foundation. Further studies have also demonstrated the ability to reliably detect triploidy, a fatal condition in which fetuses have three copies of all chromosomes. Panorama is currently being evaluated in several other clinical trials for the detection of other genetic disorders, including XXY, XYY and XXX.

Each year the World Economic Forum chooses a select number of Technology Pioneers from hundreds of applicants. Candidate companies are nominated by Members, constituents and collaborators of the World Economic Forum, and by the public. A selection committee, comprised of top technology and innovation experts, academics and venture capitalists, reviews all applications before making its recommendation to the World Economic Forum.

The Technology Pioneers 2014 will be awarded for their achievements in a ceremony on 12 September at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2013. The Meeting is the foremost global business gathering in Asia, which brings together leaders from topranked multinationals and chief executive officers of dynamic and fast-growing companies.

More information about the World Economic Forum's Technology Pioneers programme can be found at http://www.weforum.org/techpioneers .

About Natera

Natera is a leading genetic testing company that has developed a proprietary bioinformatics-based technology to deliver accurate and comprehensive highthroughput testing for reproductive indications from tiny quantities of DNA. Natera operates a CLIA-certified laboratory in San Carlos, Calif., providing a host of preconception and prenatal genetic testing services. Test offerings include preimplantation genetic diagnosis to identify chromosomal anomalies or inherited genetic conditions in embryos generated during an IVF cycle; products-of-conception testing following miscarriage to rapidly and extensively analyze fetal chromosomes in order to understand the cause of the pregnancy loss; non-invasive prenatal testing to determine paternity; carrier screening tests to detect whether parents carry genetic variations that may result in disease in the child; and Panorama, a safe, simple test for pregnant women that identifies the most common chromosomal anomalies in a fetus as early as nine weeks. Natera's clinical trial for non-invasive screening of fetal chromosomal anomalies is funded by the NIH and is being conducted by the leaders in maternal-fetal medicine in the United States. For more information, visit www.natera.com.

Contacts:
Russo Partners
Ian Stone, 619-308-6541 
ian.stone@russopartnersllc.com

Natera, Inc.
Solomon Moshkevich, 650-249-9090 
smoshkevich@natera.com