University of Southern California Purchases Production-Scale SNP Genotyping BeadLab from Illumina
Tuesday June 8, 6:00 am ET
Illumina's BeadArray(TM) Technology to Enable Expanded Scale of Research for Identifying Genes Associated with Hereditary Diseases
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 8, 2004-- Illumina, Inc. (Nasdaq:ILMN - News) today announced an agreement with the University of Southern California (USC) for the purchase and installation of an Illumina® BeadLab in the University's Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute at the Keck School of Medicine. The BeadLab, a production-scale SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) genotyping laboratory, will constitute an integral component of the University's extensive and growing resources devoted to understanding the genetic basis of complex diseases.
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The BeadLab will serve as a core facility for DNA analysis at USC. As such, it will support a broad range of biomedical research initiatives conducted collaboratively by different University departments, hospitals and centers. In addition to studying neurodegenerative and neuropsychological disorders, USC researchers and clinicians will use the BeadLab to explore the interconnection and interplay between environmental and genetic factors in the development, treatment and prevention of other complex diseases including cancer.
Brian Henderson, M.D., dean of USC's Keck School of Medicine, welcomes the addition of the Illumina BeadLab to the University's research and clinical infrastructure. "Large-scale genetic research requires proven, innovative tools," stated Henderson. "We look forward to putting our BeadLab to work and leveraging our interactive scientific approach to spark breakthrough discoveries that will result in meaningful therapies and improved clinical outcomes."
The BeadLab is an end-to-end genotyping solution built around Illumina's proprietary BeadArray(TM) technology and featuring parallel sample throughput, a high-multiplex assay protocol, low running cost per SNP scored and industry-leading performance. When installed, the genotyping laboratory at USC will have the capacity to produce routinely over eight hundred thousand genotypes per day. The BeadLab will also support gene expression profiling of large sample sets.
"USC has assumed a significant global position in genetics research," stated Jay Flatley, Illumina President and CEO, "and we expect that Brian Henderson, new dean of the Keck School of Medicine, along with his colleagues, will continue to build on the School's emerging reputation of visionary research and patient care. We're excited that our genotyping BeadLab will expand significantly the potential scale of genomics research conducted at USC and enable even more productive discovery by the University's clinical scientists."
The Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute is located at the Keck School of Medicine (www.usc.edu/keck) of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. Additional information about the University can be found at usc.edu .
Illumina (www.illumina.com) is developing next-generation tools for the large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function. The Company's proprietary BeadArray technology -- now used in leading genomics centers around the world -- provides the throughput, cost effectiveness and flexibility necessary to enable researchers in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries to perform the billions of tests necessary to extract medically valuable information from advances in genomics and proteomics. This information will help pave the way to personalized medicine by correlating genetic variation and gene function with particular disease states, enhancing drug discovery, allowing diseases to be detected earlier and more specifically, and permitting better choices of drugs for individual patients. |
