SAN
DIEGO, Aug. 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Illumina
Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), a global leader in DNA sequencing and
array-based technologies, today announced the opening of a new
office and state-of-the-art Illumina Solutions Center in Bengaluru,
India.
Illumina's expansion comes after 16 years of working closely
with the company's channel partner in India, Premas Life Sciences. Now with its own
permanent facility, Illumina will continue to collaborate with
Premas to grow the genomics market in India, recognized by the United Nations as the
most populous country in the world with more than 1.4 billion
people. Expanding access to genomics in this important market will
help unlock opportunities for advancing health care and combating
the effects of climate change in South
Asia.
"Expanding Illumina's presence in India allows the company to collaborate and be
part of a vibrant biotech ecosystem with skilled labor, strong
research and development resources, and supportive government
policies," said Gretchen Weightman,
senior vice president, Asia
Pacific, Middle East &
Africa. "In our 25th anniversary
year, it's a very exciting time to be growing our physical
presence in India to drive access
and the further adoption of genomics to transform human health,
particularly in oncology and infectious disease."
Tuberculosis is one infectious disease of concern and a
prevalent problem in India.
Globally, nearly 500,000 new cases of TB are detected each year,
and India accounts for nearly 30%
of those cases. Illumina has supported TB surveillance over the
last seven years in India through
the FIND Seq&Treat project, which aims to increase uptake of
next-generation sequencing (NGS) for affordable, scalable, and
rapid TB drug-susceptibility testing.
Illumina has also supported initiatives to increase access to
sequencing capability in India;
this includes philanthropic funding with the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation to support COVID-19
surveillance.
Illumina employs over 30 people in India, in sales, operations, marketing,
government relations, and human resources, and more hiring is
expected as Illumina moves to scale operations there. The
business is led by Abhishek Gupta,
country manager. Gupta is responsible for achieving Illumina's
commercial business objectives in India, spearheading the country's go-to-market
strategy, managing relationships with primary stakeholders and key
opinion leaders, and growing customer relationships.
"Abhishek brings vast knowledge and experience to Illumina
India, and we look forward to supporting him and the team as they
collaborate with and support our customers," said Weightman. She
also emphasized the opportunity the new Solutions Center presents
to pursue equitable access and more diverse data: "Democratizing
genomics and making it available to the many and not just the few
will take a collaborative approach. We must better reflect
diversity in genomic data and drive awareness for, access to, and
adoption of genomic technologies, through partnership."
The new Illumina Solutions Center features a fully equipped
laboratory housing the latest NGS and array technologies, and it is
fully resourced with field applications and service engineers to
offer Illumina's partners and customers broad genomics
capabilities. The center will support Illumina's growing number of
channel partners in the region by providing training and education
to increase local technical expertise and access to genomics.
About Illumina
Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the
genome. In 2023 we celebrate 25 years of innovation, which has
established us as a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based
technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and
applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life
sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other
emerging segments. To learn more, visit illumina.com and
connect on X
(Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok,
and YouTube.
Contacts
Investors:
Salli Schwartz
858-291-6421
IR@illumina.com
Media:
David McAlpine
347-327-1336
PR@illumina.com
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/illumina-expands-genomics-capabilities-in-india-with-opening-of-solutions-center-301903368.html
SOURCE Illumina, Inc.