Illumina said it has unveiled an infographic titled "The Evolution of Illumina and Genomics" to celebrate its 25th anniversary. This infographic highlights the company's significant achievements and contributions to the field of genomics.
Since its inception in 1998, Illumina has provided insights into diverse global research. A testament to its industry standard-setting contributions, technologies from Illumina have been cited in over 300,000 peer-reviewed academic publications.
Also, through continuous innovation in hardware, software, and sequencing chemistry, Illumina has drastically reduced the cost of sequencing a human genome from $150,000 to a mere $200 in the past 14 years, marking an impressive 99 percent decrease. This has considerably heightened accessibility to genomic sequencing.
One of the most notable accomplishments over its 25-year journey is Illumina's advancements in speeding up and refining the accuracy of its chemistry.
Most recently, the company launched XLEAP-SBS™ Chemistry in 2022, which offers up to double the speed and triple the accuracy of its predecessor, the SBS Chemistry.
The new system was also developed in a sustainable way, eliminating the need for dry ice during transportation making it accessible even in regions with limited infrastructure.
In oncology precision medicine, Illumina has accelerated research using comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) technology.
They've launched the TruSight Oncology Comprehensive (TSO EU Comp) kit that allows research on known and novel tumor biomarkers across multiple cancers with a single assay. The kit, currently approved in Europe, assists in improving the prognosis of cancer patients by supporting research into treatment options.
At the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Illumina's sequencing-based COVID-19 diagnostic test, Illumina COVIDSeq Test, was also the first of its kind to receive Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA.
"Illumina's growth over the past 25 years is rooted in our pioneering genomic sequencing technologies," Illumina Intercontinental General Manager Rob McBride said. "Illumina is continuously striving to improve accessibility to our technology."
Illumina has established Illumina Solution Centers (ISC) in various regions worldwide to offer training, allowing our customers and partners to maximize the potential of our technologies, McBride added.
According to McBride, the company currently operates 15 ISCs spanning countries, including Korea, the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, and Italy.