Illumina and Broad Clinical Labs usher in new era of drug discovery with collaboration to rapidly scale single-cell solutions

Longstanding partners bring together end-to-end workflows and leading CRISPR
Perturb-seq technologies setting a standard for single-cell studies and enabling a 5
billion single-cell atlas ecosystem within three years

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), a global leader in next-generation sequencing and array-based technologies, today announced a collaboration with Broad Clinical Labs to rapidly streamline and scale single-cell projects with cutting-edge tools and workflows. 

Together, the longstanding partners will set the standard for scalable single-cell research and accelerate the development of a 5 billion cell atlas within the next three years.

"Disease doesn't wait, and neither do we – Broad Clinical Labs and Illumina are unlocking the massive opportunities of single-cell sequencing to build a deeper understanding of biology," said Steve Barnard, Chief Technology Officer at Illumina. "Illumina has set the standard in whole genome sequencing, and now, with Broad's deep experience and long history of translating complex molecular biology assays into high-throughput, high quality workflows, we're doing the same with single-cell technology to advance precision health." 

"Supporting the entire -omics ecosystem in building these capabilities enables significantly greater insights into key drivers of disease and more rapid translation of these insights into better precision care," said Niall Lennon, Chairman of the Board and Chief Scientific Officer at Broad Clinical Labs. 

"By expanding our partnership to single-cell solutions, we're making significant strides to understand the roots of disease and close the gap between new biological insights and impact for patients," said Aziz Al'Khafaji, Director of Molecular R&D at Broad Clinical Labs. "The capabilities we're building, like combining Perturb-seq with Illumina Single Cell 3' RNA Prep, will support rapid and consistent data generation like we've demonstrated in the whole genome space, giving the research community the ability to create billion-cell atlas studies to make the next discoveries."

The combination of Illumina's Single Cell Prep, NovaSeq™ X Plus platform, 25B flow cell and DRAGEN™ analysis software creates a seamless end-to-end workflow enabling the high-throughput processing of single-cell samples.

Broad Clinical Labs will use this leading workflow alongside state-of-the-art techniques like Perturb-seq, CRISPR screens, and other cutting-edge applications. Together, these capabilities will help researchers process and analyze unprecedented volumes of single-cell reads with unparalleled speed and accuracy to make large-scale functional genomics studies possible and accelerate discovery in areas such as disease modeling and drug development.

Use of forward-looking statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors to which our business is subject that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are: (i) challenges inherent in developing and launching new products and services, including modifying and scaling manufacturing operations, and reliance on third-party suppliers for critical components; (ii) our ability to manufacture robust instrumentation and consumables; and (iii) the acceptance by customers of our newly launched products, which may or may not meet our and their expectations, together with other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, or in information disclosed in public conference calls, the date and time of which are released beforehand. We undertake no obligation, and do not intend, to update these forward-looking statements, to review or confirm analysts' expectations, or to provide interim reports or updates on the progress of the current quarter.

About Broad Clinical Labs

Broad Clinical Laboratories was founded in 2013 as a non-profit subsidiary of Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to accelerate the world toward a better understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of disease by pursuing projects, developing products, and driving adoption of cutting edge -omics technologies and novel molecular assays. Broad Clinical Labs is a leader in translational genomics, having sequenced over 700,000 genomes in service of its mission to accelerate the understanding and diagnosis of human disease. www.broadclinicallabs.org

About Illumina

Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation 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 with us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

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SOURCE Illumina, Inc.