Illumina

Illumina is a leading next-generation sequencing company providing genomic analysis tools to research and the pharmaceutical markets. Through acquisitions like Solexa in 2006, Illumina has driven down the cost of sequencing and enabled advances in genetic research and molecular testing. Illumina’s technology has helped decrease genetic testing costs from USD 100 million to under USD 600 in 2020. Its sequencing instruments support applications from disease research to clinical oncology and prenatal testing.

 In 2021, Illumina acquired liquid biopsy firm GRAIL for USD 8 billion but faced regulatory challenges to close the deal in the US and EU.  A ruling in favor of Illumina by the US was announced in September 2022, while the EU blocked the acquisition. In response, Illumina was exploring possibilities of divesting GRAIL and appealing the decision. In June 2022, the firm acquired the metagenomics company IDbyDNA. In December 2023, Illumina announced that the company will divest GRAIL via a third-party sale or capital markets transaction, as per the European Commission's divestiture order, to finalize the terms by the second quarter of 2024.

Illumina also backs genomic startups through its Illumina Accelerator fund, which has invested in 74 companies globally and has raised more than USD 1 billion in funding.

Key Customers and Partnerships

Illumina develops a variety of next-generation sequencing products for in vitro diagnostic use (companion diagnostics) via partnerships with large pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly, Bayer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merk, Janssen Biotech, Roche, AstraZeneca and Amgen.The company also collaborates with other precision medicine companies, such as Syapse, QIAGEN, Myriad Genetics , Henry Ford Health , GeneSeeq, Breast Cancer Canada, Pillar Biosciences and has strategic partnerships with healthcare systems and insurance providers.

In November 2023 Veracyte and Illumina entered into a long-term collaboration aiming at developing decentralized in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests. The collaboration targeted to develop and offer these IVD tests via Illumina’s advanced NextSeq 550Dx next-generation sequencing instrument. The tests devised were expected to be majorly used to diagnose and devise treatment plans for specific ailments, such as cancerous lung nodules and early-stage breast cancer.

Illumina and China-based biotech company HaploX entered into a collaboration in December 2023, to launch the NextSeq 2002Dx-CN-HAP, a new genetic sequencing system developed in Shenzhen, China. This sequencing system incorporates bioinformatics analysis capabilities with its onboard DRAGEN server and offers a flexible environment for library amplification, sequencing, and genomic analysis. The partnership aimed to support the growth of scientific research, clinical applications, and to influence the biomedical field in and around the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Funding and Financials

Founded in 1998, Illumina became a public company in 2000, trading on Nasdaq under the symbol “ILMN.” In January 2023, the company secured a USD 750 million five-year revolving credit facility from Bank of America. The new funds were allocated towards financing the company’s working capital and for general corporate expenses.

For FY2022 revenue increased 20% YoY to USD 97.7 million and the net loss worsened by 24.8% YoY to USD 109.2 million. It reported a net income of USD 13 million for Q1 2023 , down 92.3% YoY while revenue reached USD 1.09 billion for the quarter, down 11% YoY. For 2023, Illumina maintained its expected top-line growth of 7%–10% and GRAIL revenue of USD 90 million–110 million for the year.