Study Findings Report That Multiple Gene Variations Are the Cause for Developing This Complex Disease
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 13, 2007--Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN)today announced that researchers using the Infinium(R) HumanHap300 andHuman-1 BeadChips uncovered four important gene variations thatincreases the risk of developing type-2 diabetes, the most common formof the disease. These results were published in the journal, Nature,and are believed to explain up to 70 percent of the genetic backgroundof type-2 diabetes.
Led by endocrinologist Rob Sladek, M.D. at the McGill UniversityHealth Centre (MUHC) and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre, togetherwith Constantin Polychronakos, M.D. at the MUHC, and ProfessorPhilippe Froguel from the Division of Medicine at Imperial CollegeLondon, this case-control study of 392,935 single-nucleotidepolymorphisms (SNPs) revealed that patients who developed type-2diabetes shared common gene variations on chromosomes 8, 10, and 11.
"We systematically searched the entire genome to identify genesthat predispose people to developing diabetes," said Dr. Rob Sladek."Our findings are proof that using Illumina's whole-genome analysistechnology expedited this discovery, and moved us quickly to the nextstage of researching the disease's process."
"Illumina's technology has enabled me to finally perform the kindof quality studies that I have wanted to do for 20 years," saidProfessor Philippe Froguel. "Even though the genetic causes ofdiabetes have long been studied, only a few variants that represent asmall risk of why people develop this disease have been uncovered. Ourrecent findings demonstrate that we now have a first-class test topredict genetic risk for the most common form of diabetes."
Research for the study was funded by grants from Genome Quebec,Genome Canada, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. GenomeQuebec has had a longstanding relationship with Illumina and is aflagship organization in the Company's CSPro(TM) Program (www.illumina.com/CSPro).
"Less than three months ago key findings for Crohn's disease andParkinson's disease were also uncovered using the HumanHap300BeadChip, and published in the Science and Lancet journals," said JayFlatley, Illumina's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Within oneyear of launching this product, researchers have conducted genotypingstudies that have quickly unveiled key genetic variations for a seriesof complex diseases."
According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes is adisease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin.The cause of diabetes continues to be a mystery, although bothgenetics and environmental factors play a role. There are 20.8 millionchildren and adults in the United States, or seven percent of thepopulation, who have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million havebeen diagnosed, 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unawarethat they have the disease.
About the HumanHap300 and Human-1 Genotyping BeadChips
Illumina's HumanHap300 and Human-1 BeadChips enable whole-genomegenotyping powered by the Infinium Assay, which enables intelligentSNP selection utilizing tagSNPs. The revolutionary Infinium Assaycombined with BeadChips allows large-scale interrogation of variationsin the human genome, accelerating the ability of researchers tocost-effectively unlock the genetic basis of disease. The HumanHap300is also available in a two-sample BeadChip (HumanHap300-Duo), or canbe customized with up to 60,800 additional custom SNPs(HumanHap300-Duo+). For more information about Infinium technology,please visit www.illumina.com/infinium.
About Illumina
Illumina (www.illumina.com) is developing next-generation toolsfor the large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.
"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 are the costs and outcome ofIllumina's litigation with Affymetrix, our ability to effectivelyintegrate our recent acquisition of Solexa, Inc., Illumina's abilityto further develop and commercialize its BeadArray technologies and todeploy new gene expression and genotyping products and applicationsfor its platform technology, Illumina's ability to manufacture robustSentrix(R) arrays and Oligator(R) oligonucleotides, Illumina's abilityto scale and integrate CyVera technology, Illumina's ability tofurther scale oligo synthesis output and technology to satisfy marketdemand derived from the Company's collaboration with Invitrogen, andother factors detailed in the Company's filings with the Securitiesand Exchange Commission including its recent filings on Forms 10-K and10-Q or in information disclosed in public conference calls, the dateand time of which are released beforehand. Illumina disclaims anyintent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements beyondthe date of this release.
CONTACT: Illumina, Inc.
Jay Flatley, 858-202-4501
President & CEO
jflatley@illumina.com
or
Maurissa Bornstein, 858-332-4055
Manager, Public Relations
mbornstein@illumina.com
SOURCE: Illumina