SQNM has been on a nice rally since the teens when I first put out alerts on it, and looks like it’s going higher. SQNM is pushing 52 week highs as their Down Syndrome Test gains media attention.

In the past for pregnant women to test their unborn child for Down Syndrome an invasive test was required. Sequenom has developed a noninvasive test that can scan the blood of the mother.

The company expects to launch a 10,000-patient study of SEQureDX in the second half of 2008 in preparation for the product’s commercial launch in the second quarter of 2009.

Sequenom CEO Harry Stylli says the SEQureDX test provides 99% accuracy in “sensitivity and specificity.” In the U.S. alone, he says, where there are six million pregnancies each year, the potential market for Sequenom’s test runs to about $1.5 billion to $3 billion. Worldwide, the potential could be up to $6 billion to $8 billion, he adds.