San Diego, CA 5/6/10; San Diego, CA 5/12/10—Sequenom has announced that it expects to raise $51.6 million through a private placement of common stock. The company has entered into an agreement to issue and sell 12,435,000 shares of common stock at $4.15 per share to certain investors. Earlier in the month, Sequenom announced it plans to continue development of its noninvasive prenatal diagnostic test for Trisomy 21 aneuploidy (Down’s syndrome). Last year, the company ceased development of the test following findings of scientific misconduct that led to the dismissal of top management and legal action (see IBO 9/30/09). The company announced that the test would be based on DNA detection using massively parallel sequencing and that it has set several program milestones, including a plan to complete the appropriate studies and documentation to file for a premarket approval by the end of 2012. Sequenom also plans to open a second CLIA-certified lab early in the fourth quarter.