(CN) — A putative class action lawsuit over prenatal tests that can produce a high percentage of false positives for rare genetic conditions was significantly trimmed by a federal judge who said the plaintiffs must be more precise if they want to base their claims on fraudulent conduct.
U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in Oakland on Tuesday dismissed a number of claims brought against Natera Inc., the maker of Panorama tests that screen for an array of fetal chromosomal and genetic conditions. Specifically, the judge agreed with Natera that claims that "sound in fraud," in so far as they relied on Natera’s allegedly fraudulent omissions regarding Panorama’s accuracy and reliability as a prenatal screening product, need to be pleaded with more detail.
"To plead their partial misrepresentation claims with particularity, Plaintiffs must identify the allegedly misleading representations that each of them saw and relied upon in deciding to purchase Panorama," the Obama appointee said. "Plaintiffs have not done so."
Of the six plaintiffs who claimed they reviewed the brochure for Panorama before they bought it, none claimed to have relied on any of the allegedly misleading statements in the brochure in choosing to purchase Panorama, according to ruling.
The lawsuit against Natera, and a similar one against Myriad Genetics, followed a New York Times report last year that prenatal tests that screen for genetic disorders such as Down syndrome early in a pregnancy can produce a high...
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