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CompletedNCT05687474BabyDetectUpdated Aug 12, 2025

Baby Detect : Genomic Newborn Screening

An observational study in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Familial Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia 1 and Phosphoglucomutase 1 Deficiency, sponsored by Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liege. Completed at 1 site in Belgium. Open to participants aged Up to 28 Days, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-08-12.

Sponsored by Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liege · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
6,824
Ages
Up to 28 Days
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Newborn screening (NBS) is a global initiative of systematic testing at birth to identify babies with pre-defined severe but treatable conditions. With a simple blood test, rare genetic conditions can be easily detected, and the early start of transformative treatment will help avoid severe disabilities and increase the quality of life.

Baby Detect Project is an innovative NBS program using a panel of target sequencing that aims to identify 126 treatable severe early onset genetic diseases at birth caused by 361 genes. The list of diseases has been established in close collaboration with the Paediatricians of the University Hospital in Liege. The investigators use dedicated dried blood spots collected between the first day and 28 days of life of babies, after a consent sign by parents.

Read the detailed description

Every year, thousands of children around the world are born with rare genetic diseases leading to death or lifelong disability. With technological advancements in the field of genetics and medicine, the rate of introduction of treatments for these rare conditions has grown remarkably.

However, timing is of great importance for medication administration. The benefit that can be measured in a patient who has already suffered from a long irreversible degenerative disorder is small and, sometimes, it hardly justifies the cost and the burden of the treatment. Early diagnosis is, thus, of primary importance both to obtain the best effect of the innovative medications and to accelerate their development.

The investigators are pioneered in the field of genetic newborn screening (NBS) in rare diseases by funding, designing, and leading an innovative genetic NBS program initiated in March 2018 in Southern Belgium for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) that allowed, so far, for 11 children to be detected and treated early and avoid the terrible fate of the disease. The program was disseminated in 17 countries and included public dissemination and health-economic analysis since the very beginning [1]. (www.facebook.com/sunmayariseonsma).

Drawing upon our experience with SMA screening, the investigators have designed a project to screen up to 40,000 newborns/year progressively in 3 years for virtually all the rare diseases that can benefit from treatment or a pre-symptomatic clinical trial.

The methodology of Baby Detect includes sequencing of target genes on dried blood spots collected from the NBS cards in a timely and cost-efficient manner, and its high dynamicity allows for any newly treatable rare disease to be included in its scheme in no longer than 6 months.

Baby Detect, as a multidisciplinary newborn screening program, involves expertise in areas from genetics and medicine to laboratory studies, computer science, Data Protection, Ethics, and health economy. It will constitute the proof of concept that is needed before moving to a whole region-scale population.

02

Conditions studied

  • Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
  • Familial Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia 1
  • Phosphoglucomutase 1 Deficiency
  • Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young
  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Hypophosphatasia, Infantile
  • Congenital Hypothyroidism
  • Deficit in Anterior Pituitary Function and Variable Immunodeficiency
  • Pituitary Hormone Deficiency, Combined
  • Diamond Blackfan Anemia
  • Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome
  • Fanconi Anemia
  • Hemophilia A
  • Hemophilia B
  • Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency
  • Alpha-Thalassemia
  • Sickle Cell Disease
  • Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome
  • Alpha 1-Antitrypsin Deficiency
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease 25, Autosomal Recessive
  • Wilson Disease
  • Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis
  • Crigler-Najjar Syndrome
  • Familial Chylomicronemia
  • Lysosomal Acid Lipase Deficiency
  • Familial Hemophagocytic Lymphocytosis
  • Griscelli Syndrome
  • Chediak-Higashi Syndrome
  • Severe Congenital Neutropenia
  • Severe Combined Immune Deficiency
  • Chronic Granulomatous Disease
  • Menkes Disease
  • Adrenoleukodystrophy
  • Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome
  • Ataxia With Vitamin E Deficiency
  • Thiamine Metabolism Dysfunction Syndrome 5 (Episodic Encephalopathy Type)
  • Thiamine Metabolism Dysfunction Syndrome 4 (Bilateral Striatal Degeneration and Progressive Polyneuropathy Type)
  • Thiamine-Responsive Megaloblastic Anemia
  • Thiamine Metabolism Dysfunction Syndrome 2
  • Deficiency of GOT2
  • Cerebral Folate Transport Deficiency
  • Segawa Syndrome, Autosomal Recessive
  • Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome
  • Metachromatic Leukodystrophy
  • Sepiapterin Reductase Deficiency
  • Dopamine Beta Hydroxylase Deficiency
  • Glut1 Deficiency Syndrome
  • Late-Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis
  • Aromatic L-amino Acid Decarboxylase Deficiency
  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, Type 6C
  • Hereditary Hyperekplexia
  • Brain Dopamine-Serotonin Vesicular Transport Disease
  • Very Long Chain Hydroxy Acyl Dehydrogenase Deficiency
  • Tyrosinemia, Type I
  • Disaccharide Intolerance I
  • Beta Ketothiolase Deficiency
  • Phosphoglycerate Dehydrogenase Deficiency
  • Succinyl-Coa:3-Ketoacid Coa-Transferase Deficiency
  • Pyridoxine-5'-Phosphate Oxidase Deficiency
  • Pyridoxine-Dependent Epilepsy
  • Propionic Acidemia
  • Pompe Disease
  • Phenylalanine Hydroxylase Deficiency
  • Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency
  • N Acetyl Glutamate Synthetase Deficiency
  • Riboflavin Deficiency
  • Maple Syrup Urine Disease
  • Medium Chain Acyl CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency
  • Malonic Acidemia
  • Long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency
  • Isovaleric Acidemia
  • Phosphoserine Aminotransferase Deficiency
  • Phosphoserine Phosphatase Deficiency
  • Hyperornithinemia-Hyperammonemia-Homocitrullinuria
  • S-Adenosylhomocysteine Hydrolase Deficiency
  • Mucopolysaccharidosis VII
  • Mucopolysaccharidosis VI
  • Mucopolysaccharidosis IV A
  • Mucopolysaccharidosis II
  • Mucopolysaccharidosis I
  • Transcobalamin Deficiency
  • Isolated Methylmalonic Acidemia
  • Cobalamin Deficiency
  • Homocystinuria
  • Holocarboxylase Synthetase Deficiency
  • Fanconi Bickel Syndrome
  • Glycogen Storage Disease
  • Glycine Encephalopathy
  • Glutaric Acidemia I
  • Glucose Galactose Malabsorption
  • Gaucher Disease, Type 1
  • Galactosemias
  • Fructosemia
  • Fructose-1,6-Diphosphatase Deficiency
  • Carbamoyl Phosphate Synthase 1 Deficiency
  • Citrullinemia Type II
  • Citrullinemia 1
  • Creatine Deficiency Syndrome
  • Systemic Primary Carnitine Deficiency
  • Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase Deficiency 2
  • Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase Deficiency 1
  • Carnitine Acylcarnitine Translocase Deficiency
  • Riboflavin Transporter Deficiency
  • Branched-Chain Keto Acid Dehydrogenase Kinase Deficiency
  • Andersen Tawil Syndrome
  • Timothy Syndrome
  • Jervell-Lange Nielsen Syndrome
  • Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia
  • Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Type 4
  • Pseudohypoaldosteronism, Type II
  • Pseudohypoaldosteronism Type 1
  • Primary Hyperoxaluria
  • X Linked Hypophosphatemia
  • Hereditary Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus
  • Cystinosis
  • Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome, Finnish Type
  • Alport Syndrome
  • Hereditary Retinoblastoma
  • Biotinidase Deficiency
  • Aciduria, Argininosuccinic
  • Argininemia
  • Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase Family, Member 9, Deficiency of
  • 3-Hydroxy 3-Methyl Glutaric Aciduria
  • 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-CoA Synthase 2 Deficiency
03

In context

Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital

101 studies on the registry are indexed under Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital; 28 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 6,824 is above the median of 61 across 44 observational studies indexed under Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital.

Browse Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital studies →

Lead sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liege is the lead sponsor of 40 studies on the registry; 26 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
Up to 28 Days
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Newborns whose mothers and/or the second-parents meet the inclusion criteria and have provided their consent to take part in the study

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • newborn between birth and 28 days of life
  • consent of parent

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • + 28 days
  • Non consent of parent
05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
6,824 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No
Biospecimen retention
Samples with dna

Groups and cohorts

  • Newborns with consent

    Newborns with parent's consent

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Acceptability

    The percentage of parents accepting the proposed screening in comparison with the number of mothers approached for consent

    Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year

  2. Feasibility - timing

    The Turn-around time for the different mutations that are screened

    Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year

  3. Feasibility - reliability

    The percentage of false positives and the predicted value for each test The estimation of the false negatives through collaboration with physicians treating the different diseases.

    Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year

Secondary outcomes

  1. Consequence of NBS on early treatment access - timing

    The time passed between the birth of diagnostic-positive newborns to the initiation of their treatment

    Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year

  2. Consequence of NBS on early treatment access - frequency

    The number of patients offered early treatment

    Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year

  3. To improve the detection technique for disease related mutations that are not detected in classical screening by improving the classification of unspecified variants.

    The number of new mutations implemented yearly in the NBS.

    Time frame: through study completion, an average of 1 year

07

Study locations

1 site
  • CRMN, Hôpital La Citadelle
    Liège, Wallonia 4000, Belgium
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Boemer F, Hovhannesyan K, Piazzon F, Minner F, Mni M, Jacquemin V, Mashhadizadeh D, Benmhammed N, Bours V, Jacquinet A, Harvengt J, Bulk S, Dideberg V, Helou L, Palmeira L, Dangouloff T; BabyDetect Expert Panel; Servais L. Population-based, first-tier genomic newborn screening in the maternity ward. Nat Med. 2025 Apr;31(4):1339-1350. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-03465-x. Epub 2025 Jan 28. PubMed 39875687 ↗
  • Dangouloff T, Hovhannesyan K, Mashhadizadeh D, Minner F, Mni M, Helou L, Piazzon F, Palmeira L, Boemer F, Servais L. Feasibility and Acceptability of a Newborn Screening Program Using Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing in One Maternity Hospital in Southern Belgium. Children (Basel). 2024 Jul 30;11(8):926. doi: 10.3390/children11080926. PubMed 39201861 ↗

Related links

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 12, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05687474
Lead sponsor
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liege
Collaborators
Centre Hospitalier Régional de la Citadelle, University of Liege, Sanofi, Orchard Therapeutics, Takeda, Zentech-Lacar Company, Leon Fredericq Foundation
Responsible party
Laurent Servais (Professor, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liege) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 18, 2023
Start date
Sep 1, 2022
Primary completion
Jun 2, 2025
Completion
Jun 2, 2025
Last update
Aug 12, 2025

Study contacts

Laurent Servais
principal investigator · Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liege

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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