SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2007--Illumina, Inc.(NASDAQ:ILMN) and Mayo Clinic announced today that they have signed adiagnostic collaborative agreement to enable the co-development ofmolecular diagnostic tests for the study of complex diseases. Theagreement recognizes the strengths of both organizations. Illuminawill contribute its VeraCode(TM) technology and development expertisefor the BeadArray(TM) and BeadXpress(TM) instrument platforms. MayoClinic will bring broad knowledge in clinical practice and patientoutcome management along with proficiency in establishing clinicalutility of new diagnostic technologies. In addition, Mayo's ability todiscover and validate biomarkers offers the potential for both partiesto implement important new clinical tests.
"We began working with Mayo Clinic in early 2005 when we installeda BeadLab system in their Rochester, Minnesota location. We are nowdelighted to collaborate with an organization of such vision andexpertise in both its scientific and clinical fields," said JayFlatley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Illumina. "Expandingour relationship with Mayo Clinic, one of the country's leadingmedical institutions, represents an important step in the evolutionof our diagnostics strategy. With the world market in moleculardiagnostics estimated at over two billion dollars, we are eager todevelop tools that can improve healthcare for patients with a broadrange of unmet needs," said Jorge Velarde, Senior Director of BusinessDevelopment.
Terms of the agreement enable the implementation of new clinicaltests within Mayo's clinical practice and Mayo Medical Laboratories.Additionally, Illumina will manufacture and market tests worldwide onIllumina's BeadArray and upcoming BeadXpress Reader.
About BeadArray, VeraCode and BeadXpress
Illumina's patented BeadArray technology achieves a level of arrayminiaturization that allows for a new scale of experimentation. Anarray is a collection of miniaturized test sites arranged on a surfacethat permits many tests, or assays, to be performed in parallel. Byarranging our analytical devices into a multi-sample Array ofArrays(TM) format, one can process in parallel thousands to millionsof assays, a throughput significantly beyond the capability of anytechnology known to us.
Illumina's VeraCode technology leverages the power of digitalholographic codes to provide a robust detection method for multiplexedassays requiring high precision, accuracy and speed. This state of theart technology, combined with Illumina's BeadXpress Reader, supportsthe rapid detection and analysis of a wide range of assays withindustry leading multiplexing capability. For more information pleasevisit www.illumina.com/veracode.
About Mayo Clinic
The Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinicmaintains an active diagnostic test development program. Theseactivities also incorporate technologies from collaborations withdiagnostic and biotechnology companies. Mayo utilizes these provendiagnostic technologies in the care of its patients and offers them tomore than 5,000 health care institutions around the world through MayoMedical Laboratories (MML). Revenue from MML testing is used tosupport medical education and research at Mayo Clinic.
About Illumina
Illumina (www.illumina.com) develops and markets next-generationtools for the large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.The Company's proprietary BeadArray technology -- used in leadinggenomics centers around the world -- provides the throughput, costeffectiveness and flexibility necessary to enable researchers in thelife sciences and pharmaceutical industries to perform the billions oftests necessary to extract medically valuable information fromadvances in genomics and proteomics. This information will help pavethe way to personalized medicine by correlating genetic variation andgene function with particular disease states, enhancing drugdiscovery, allowing diseases to be detected earlier and morespecifically, and permitting better choices of drugs for individualpatients.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities LitigationReform Act of 1995: This release may contain forward-lookingstatements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the importantfactors that could cause actual results to differ materially fromthose in any forward-looking statements include, but are not limitedto: risks and uncertainties associated with the agreement betweenIllumina and Mayo Clinic discussed in this press release; the costsand outcome of Illumina's litigation with Affymetrix, the Company'sability to scale and integrate CyVera technology, the ability tofurther scale oligo synthesis output and technology to satisfy marketdemand deriving from the Company's collaboration with Invitrogen,Illumina's ability to further develop and commercialize its BeadArraytechnologies and to deploy new gene expression and genotyping productsand applications for its platform technology, to manufacture robustSentrix(R) arrays -- including HumanHap BeadChips -- and Oligator(R)oligonucleotides, and other factors detailed in the Company's filingswith the Securities and Exchange Commission including its recentfilings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q or in information disclosed in publicconference calls, the date and time of which are released beforehand.Illumina disclaims any intent or obligation to update theseforward-looking statements beyond the date of this release.
CONTACT: Illumina, Inc.
Jay Flatley
President & CEO
858-202-4501
jflatley@illumina.com
or
Maurissa Bornstein
Manager, Public Relations
858-332-4055
mbornstein@illumina.com
SOURCE: Illumina, Inc.