In 2011, VIB and UAntwerp spun out Multiplicom, based on the PCR multiplex technology. Jurgen del Favero took up the role of Chief Technology Officer. The biotech start-up focuses on the development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative analysis tools for genetic and genomic research. This enables clinical laboratories to detect DNA variants associated with a genetic predisposition or disease. PCR Multiplexing is their central technology. In 2017, Multiplicom was acquired by Agilent Technologies.

A safe and accurate non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT), is one of the commercial products of Multiplicom, now Agilent Technologies. The test serves to detect birth defects in a foetus early in the pregnancy, for example Down’s syndrome. NIPT is a non-invasive test that only needs a mother’s blood sample. The company’s state-of-the-art technology greatly simplified the NIPT, allowing it to be carried out in more laboratories and making it accessible to a broader public.