TECHNOLOGY
Empowering a healthy future via partnerships Illumina places high value on collaborative interactions to fuel groundbreaking advancements in life science research . With the ability to sequence at an unprecedented scale , the company relies on partnerships to venture into new fields that can impact the world .
Illumina has been making strides in the field of fertility as of late . Last year , the company acquired Verinata Health — the maker of a non-invasive prenatal sequencing test to identify fetal abnormalities — thus allowing Illumina to offer this service to consumers ( through their doctors ) in a market that could be worth billions of dollars in revenue .
Additionally , the company has formed the Global Fertility Alliance with Merck KGaA of Germany , a leader in fertility drugs , and Genea of Australia , which operates fertility clinics .
The alliance will aim to standardize procedures for assisted reproduction and help families across the globe have healthy babies .
“ We are confident this collaboration of innovators in the fertility field will deliver a significant positive impact for healthcare professionals , fertility labs , and most importantly their patients ,” Tristan Orpin , senior vice president and general manager for reproductive genetic health at Illumina , told the news source Times of San Diego .
Looking overseas , by partnering with China-based genomic enterprise Annoroad , Illumina is looking to co-develop a next generation sequencing ( NGS ) diagnostic system that will improve patients ’ reproductive health . The NGS technology has been observed by scientists lately and is being considered as a key factor for empowering precision medicine around the world .
The partnership signals the company ’ s attempt to expand
“ Just as Intel became the company that sparked so much of the computer revolution , Illumina has risen to prominence as a driver of the genomics revolution .” — Forbes
12 August 2015