Replies to post #205126 on Biotech Values

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ILMN > up 16% on news...Illumina says it can deliver a $100 genome — soon

https://www.statnews.com/2017/01/09/illumina-ushering-in-the-100-genome/?utm_content=bufferbee11&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Three years ago, Illumina made a big splash at the J.P. Morgan conference when it claimed that its then-new HiSeq X Ten machine could churn out a $1,000 genome. But the problem was, the powerful device was sold in multipes of ten —costing customers about $10 million.

The NovaSeq is meant to be a lower cost, and more accessible device. It will come in two models — dubbed the 5000 and 6000 systems. They’ll cost $850,000 and $985,000, respectively — allowing labs that couldn’t afford the X Ten to bring down their sequencing costs considerably, deSouza said. These up front costs are folded into the ultimate price tag that goes into sequencing a genome. So, too, are the costs for the chemicals it takes to run the machine, as well as the overhead expense of paying technicians to run them. Even electricity bills factor in, making $100 a bit lofty in the present. But as device and reagent costs go down, so should the individual cost per genome.

Illumina made two other announcements Monday at J.P. Morgan: It has partnered with IBM Watson, linking the artificial intelligence genomics product to Illumina’s TruSight Tumor 170 — a tool to help cancer patients receive the specific drugs they need. Illumina also partnered with Bay Area-based Bio-Rad Laboratories to work on single-cell genomic analysis, to help unlock the intricacies of complex diseases.