Thermo Fisher will invest £5 million in Premaitha as a secured loan facility, of which the company will receive £3 million initially and the remainder as milestone payments over the next two years.

"This investment will enable us to expand our global reach, [and] support our marketing and clinical and technical capabilities. It will also provide future product development opportunities in the rapidly growing noninvasive prenatal testing market," Premaitha CEO Stephen Little said in a statement.

The company's CE-marked Iona NIPT uses Thermo Fisher's Ion Proton sequencer and Ion Chef sample prep instrument.