BGI Statement in Response to Reuters Report

SHENZHEN, China, July 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BGI is aware of reports in Reuters regarding the company’s non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT test) - NIFTY (Non-Invasive Fetal TrisomY).

BGI’s NIPT tests (one kind of BGI gene test) have been used around the world to identify genetic conditions in pregnancy. These tests provide doctors with the scientific basis to assist millions of pregnant women, leading to better health outcomes and, in some cases, saved lives.

The research that BGI has undertaken collaboratively with some of the world’s leading academic and scientific institutions has led to major medical breakthroughs that will benefit the world for many decades to come.

As a leader in life science and gene technology, BGI is committed to improving health outcomes worldwide. That is and always has been the company’s mission. Assertions that BGI is motivated by anything other than the advancement of health outcomes are both deeply disappointing and factually incorrect.

These are the facts:

BGI has never been asked to provide, nor has it provided data from its NIFTY test to Chinese authorities for national security or national defense security purposes.

Contrary to the report by Reuters, DNA data collected from prenatal tests on women outside China are not stored in China’s gene bank. All NIPT data collected overseas are stored in BGI’s laboratory in Hong Kong and are destroyed after five years, as stipulated by General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).