San Diego’s DNA sequencing giant Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) is expanding its genomics capabilities in India. Executives have announced the opening of a new office and state-of-the-art Illumina Solutions Center in Bengaluru (Bangalore), located in the country’s southern state of Karnataka.
Chief Financial Officer & Chief Corporate Strategy and Development Officer
Illumina
“Bangalore has become known as a biotech hub for India, with a commitment to world class R&D capabilities. Our team there – in collaboration with longtime channel partner, Premas Life Sciences – will serve local customers and expand access to genomics in the region,” Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Strategy and Development Officer Joydeep Goswami said.
Illumina began working with Premas in 2007. “Through a close partnership with them, there is now an Illumina instrument in almost one of India’s 36 states and union territories – and that is just the beginning of our work together. Our facility in India will allow that partnership to grow even more, and further help the world’s most populous country unlock the power of the genome,” Goswami added.
As it scales up operations, Illumina plans to continue adding to its more than 30 employees who are already working in India in positions ranging from sales to marketing to government relations. Country Manager Abhishek Gupta will oversee commercial business objectives.
Ripe Opportunity
With a population of 1.4 billion people who are facing public health crises like tuberculosis, HIV, AIDS and malaria, Goswami sees a ripe opportunity in India to make a difference.
“It’s estimated that up to 96 million people in India have a rare disease, and one in nine people there are likely to develop cancer in their lifetimes,” he added. “We now have the team and local capabilities there to play a leading role in delivering diagnostics for the genetic disease, infectious disease, and oncology spaces.”
The company has supported initiatives to increase access to sequencing capability in India, including providing funding with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation to support COVID-19 surveillance.
Illumina’s India site will include office space for a full-time team and the company’s new Illumina Solutions Center, featuring a fully equipped laboratory housing the latest NGS and array technologies, along with resourced field applications and service engineers. It’ll also provide training and education to increase local technical expertise.
Bright Spots Amid Shakeups
The expansion signals movement in a positive direction, along with the company’s announcement earlier this year that it entered into an agreement with biopharmaceutical company Amgen to whole-genome sequence approximately 35,000 DNA samples. They’re primarily comprised of DNA from African Americans who are currently underrepresented in research for the clinical applications of genomics, including drug target discovery. Nashville Biosciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), will also participate in the research.
The advancements come following a sequence of shakeups, including layoffs in June as part of a plan to slash operational expenses by $100 million.
In July, the European Commission (EC) announced a $480M fine for Illumina’s $7.1 billion acquisition of GRAIL – a spin-out company that makes non-invasive, liquid biopsy tests for cancer, citing it would have “significant anticompetitive effects, stifling innovation and reducing choice in the emerging market for blood-based early cancer detection tests.”
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) followed up earlier this year by ordering the company to unwind the merger. Illumina is challenging both the EC and the FTC in court, citing in part, “Following the FTC Chief Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) decision in favor of Illumina in September 2022, Illumina believes that it has a strong case on appeal.”
As of August 2023, Illumina’s market cap or net worth was $26.79B.
Illumina Inc.
FOUNDED: 1998
CEO: Charles Dadswell (interim)
HEADQUARTERS: San Diego
EMPLOYEES: 10,000+
BUSINESS: DNA sequencing
STOCK: ILMN (NASDAQ)
REVENUE: $4.462B (2023)
WEBSITE: illumina.com
NOTABLE: Illumina is the world’s leading genomics sequencing company.
