Current controversies in prenatal diagnosis 3: industry drives innovation in research and clinical application of genetic prenatal diagnosis and screening

What's already known about this topic? Innovation and technological development have commonalities across all disciplines in terms of process, evaluation, and incorporation into use. Many technologies have evolved through traditional methods such as research grant funding, individual, and multicenter trials, followed by eventual introduction into common practice. Others have been significantly sped up by industrial resources and drive. What does this study adds? The development of basic new concepts and procedures will very like continue to reside the academic environment. As the pace of technological development has rapidly accelerated and academic support for such work has significantly diminished, corporate involvement, sponsorship, and partnering have become much more common and, particularly for laboratory techniques, are necessary to achieve progress at a rapid pace. There is a balance that needs to be respected between the benefits and constraints of such industrial involvement that will require compromise on both sides to achieve an optimal environment.