Genome Institute of Singapore Purchases Four Additional Illumina Genome Analyzers to Advance Stem Cell and Cancer Research Studies

Dr. Ruan Yijun, Associate Director of Genome Technology at GIS said, "The Genome Analyzer is robust and versatile. We will use it across a broad array of applications including construction of transcriptional networks through identifying transcription factor interactions and chromatin modifications in stem cells and cancer cells, characterization of genome and transcriptome variations in healthy and patient samples, and discovery of new pathogens through metagenomic sequencing. This expansion of our sequencing capacity is necessary for us to deliver high impact discoveries through our innovative PET sequencing platform."

PET, or the Pair-End-diTag technology, is a new approach developed by researchers at GIS to study genome structures and functions. In October 2007, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded GIS US$3M grants to further advance the PET technology for human genome annotation and to identify complete fusion genes that function as oncogenes, or cancer-causing genes.

"The PET sequencing strategy that we pioneered integrates seamlessly with Illumina's Genome Analyzer. Using the system's paired-end reads capacity, we have successfully established our ultra high throughput PET-based analyses for comprehensive characterization of transcriptome and chromatin structures," said by Dr. Wei, Chia-Lin, the senior group leader of Genome Technology and Biology at GIS.

"With this scale up, GIS is strengthening its position as a powerhouse among genome centers worldwide. This second purchase of multiple systems is further evidence of the market's rapid and broad adoption of the Genome Analyzer with repeat purchases across a wide range of customers, including genome centers and individual academic research labs," said Tristan Orpin, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations at Illumina.

Illumina's sequencing technology is founded on large-scale parallel sequencing of millions of nucleic acid fragments using proprietary reversible terminator-based sequencing chemistry. This approach, with Illumina's automated workflow and the Genome Analyzer, has been broadly adopted by both single-investigator laboratories and genome centers worldwide. As a result, researchers have leveraged the platform's extensive range of applications, including whole-genome, targeted and de novo sequencing, analysis of bisulfite converted DNA, transcriptome profiling, and protein-nucleic acid interactions to publish groundbreaking studies at an unprecedented rate. Since its commercial release in early 2007, more than 120 original research studies have been published on the Genome Analyzer in peer-reviewed journals.

About Illumina

Illumina (www.illumina.com) is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of next-generation life-science tools and integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological function. Using our proprietary technologies, we provide a comprehensive line of products and services that currently serve the sequencing, genotyping, and gene expression markets, and we expect to enter the market for molecular diagnostics. Our customers include leading genomic research centers, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, clinical research organizations, and biotechnology companies. Our tools provide researchers around the world with the performance, throughput, cost effectiveness, and flexibility necessary to perform the billions of genetic tests needed to extract valuable medical information from advances in genomics and proteomics. We believe this information will enable researchers to correlate genetic variation and biological function, which will enhance drug discovery and clinical research, allow diseases to be detected earlier, and permit better choices of drugs for individual patients.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: this release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are Illumina's ability (i) to develop and commercialize further our BeadArray(TM), VeraCode(R), and Solexa(R) technologies and to deploy new sequencing, gene expression, and genotyping products and applications for our technology platforms, (ii) to manufacture robust instrumentation and reagents technology, together with other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including our 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 disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements beyond the date of this release.

SOURCE: Illumina, Inc.

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