San Diego biomedical giant Illumina, maker of top-end gene sequencers costing millions of dollars, has introduced an entry-level sequencer aimed at individual researchers. And in another move to extend its reach, Illumina is also partnering with rival sequencer maker Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The sequencer, called the iSeq 100, costs $20,000. It’s useful for applications from profiling cancer genomes to monitoring for infectious diseases, Illumina said recently.

Not only price, but the iSeq’s design also has been adapted for the solo research scientist, said Kevin Meldrum, Illumina’s senior director of product marketing. Operation has been simplified, with much of the complexity embedded in the cartridges sold for the system, he said.

“Typically, in an academic institution a core service facility would have all the sequencers and you’d send your samples there,” Meldrum said. “Now we’re getting to a point where people can actually maintain custody of their sample. It’s just more efficient instead of waiting to get your sequencing results.”


Eye researcher Karl Wahlin said he’s eager to get an iSeq 100. He’s director of the Richard C. Atkinson Laboratory for Regenerative Ophthalmology at UC San Diego’s Shiley Eye Center.

Wahlin’s lab is constructing mini-retinas grown from stem cells. These are being studied for how genetic variation affects their function.

“One of the limitations now is that we collect samples, and then we have to wait a month and a half to two months to get our data back,” Wahlin said.

“What’s really attractive about the iSeq is that it can potentially not only reduce that time, but we can answer questions in a much more direct way,” he said. “So what would have taken two months may now could take two or three days.”


The deal with Thermo Fisher allows Illumina to sell the latter’s Ion AmpliSeq technology, which accurately reproduces selected DNA or RNA sequences from a small initial volume, producing enough for detailed analysis.

“It’s a real change because we kind of had been in a dogfight,” Meldrum said.

The two companies have vied for leadership in sequencing for many years. Illumina was founded in 1998, when it was a tiny entrant compared to then-giant Celera Genomics. Illumina rapidly incorporated new technology, including a crucial 2007 acquisition of Solexa, which led to Illumina’s present dominance.

Thermo Fisher became a major power in sequencing with its 2013 purchase of Carlsbad’s Life Technologies for $13.6 billion. Thermo Fisher retained the Carlsbad site, and now employs about 1,700 there.


Now, the two companies understand that they can also help each other.

Illumina benefits from adding another useful product to its offerings, Meldrum said. Thermo Fisher benefits from having its technology more widely distributed, said Joydeep Goswami, president of clinical next-generation sequencing and oncology.

Next-generation sequencing, or NGS, refers to modern methods that greatly accelerate the once-laborious process of reading the genetic alphabet. Illumina, Thermo Fisher and smaller companies have devised their own methods of achieving this end. The Thermo Fisher technology makes it possible to use NGS with samples otherwise too small to work with.

“Over the course of the last year or so we worked with Illumina to find a way to get the product available to Illumina customers, Goswami said. Moreover, the collaboration began before and goes beyond the Ion AmpliSeq deal.


“Thermo Fisher is a very large company, and we have not only NGS, but several other technologies,” he said. “So we continue to engage and collaborate on a very regular basis. A lot of this is confidential, but we do a fair bit of working together. And that will continue.”

Related reading

Genome leader Illumina expands again in San Diego

Illumina expands with massive new manufacturing building


Illumina diving into chip-based sequencing

Illumina breaks genome cost barrier


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