Illumina to Conduct Large-Scale Genotyping for UK-Based Research Groups Studying Molecular Basis of Prostate Cancer
Tuesday April 11, 6:00 am ET
Study Designed to Understand Genetic Susceptibility, Mechanisms of Disease Progression, and Cancer Therapy Management
New Agreement Mirrors One Signed in November
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2006--Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN - News) announced today that it has signed a genotyping services agreement to support prostate cancer researchers funded by Cancer Research UK, the world's leading independent charity dedicated to cancer research. Under the terms of the agreement, valued at nearly $7 million, Illumina's service group will conduct whole-genome genotyping (greater than 550,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, per sample) for at least 4,000 well-classified prostate patients and controls. A second phase will involve development of a custom, 12-sample BeadChip that will enable analysis of 24,000 SNPs per sample and be used to genotype at least 8,000 samples. Both phases will use Illumina's Sentrix® BeadChips and Infinium(TM) Assay with the option to employ related assay methods.
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This is the second large-scale genotyping agreement signed between the two organizations in the last six months. Its structure closely follows a November 2005 agreement under which Illumina is genotyping colorectal cancer samples and controls for Cancer Research UK.
Illumina's genotyping services group will support work being driven scientifically by a collaboration comprising two Cancer Research UK-funded research groupings investigating the genetic basis of prostate cancer. One of the research groups is led by Dr. Rosalind Eeles of the Translational Cancer Genetics Team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London. The second research group will be led by Professor Douglas Easton in Cancer Research UK's Genetic Epidemiology Unit in the Strangeways Research Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. The aim of the work is to investigate the role of common genetic variation in the etiology of prostate cancer. From the work, it is hoped that it will be possible in the future to design and validate biomarkers associated with prostate cancer susceptibility and disease progression, as well as to facilitate development of improved therapeutic approaches.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men and it is a leading cause of cancer-related death among men. Little is known about the molecular mechanism of prostate cancer development. Complicating understanding is the fact that prostate cancer often causes few symptoms in its early stages, yet early diagnosis is extremely important for successful treatment. So there is significant incentive to understand the genetic basis of the disease with the aim of developing improved preventive strategies and diagnostic approaches to enable earlier intervention and optimized clinical outcomes.
Commenting on the latest agreement, Harpal Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of Cancer Research-UK, said, "We're pleased to extend our relationship with Illumina to a second genotyping study, underscoring both our confidence in their data quality and our ongoing organizational imperative of conducting world-class research into the biology and causes of cancer. My colleagues and I believe firmly that this type of research will yield dramatically improved understanding of prostate cancer and thereby outcomes for cancer patients."
Phase 1 of the project will include over 4,000 controls and prostate cancer patient samples. Each sample will be genotyped with the Sentrix® HumanHap550 BeadChip using Illumina's Infinium(TM) assay. SNP content for the BeadChips is derived largely from high-value TagSNPs (see Note) identified in the recently completed HapMap Project. With comprehensive genomic coverage and industry-leading data quality, HumanHap BeadChips deliver superior performance for large-scale disease association studies.
In addition to identifying potential biomarkers, Cancer Research UK will evaluate the genotype data to detect and analyze chromosomal aberrations such as copy number changes and loss of heterozygosity -- both of which may provide clues as to genetic mechanisms underlying cancer development.
"We're very pleased to continue working with Cancer Research UK to help their research teams gain further insight into the genetic basis of cancer," said Jay Flatley, Illumina President and CEO. "Cancer Research UK is pioneering cancer research with a series of bold programs that may well accelerate the identification of cancer-causing markers, genes and pathways, with broad global benefit."
About Cancer Research UK
Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.
Cancer Research UK carries out world-class research to improve understanding of the disease and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer.
Cancer Research UK ensures that its findings are used to improve the lives of all cancer patients.
Cancer Research UK helps people to understand cancer, the progress that is being made and the choices each person can make.
Cancer Research UK works in partnership with others to achieve the greatest impact in the global fight against cancer.
For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call +44 (0)20 7009 8820 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org.uk.
About Illumina
Illumina (www.illumina.com) develops and markets next-generation tools for the large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function. The Company's proprietary BeadArray technology -- 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.
"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 the costs and outcome of Illumina's litigation with Affymetrix, the Company's ability to scale and integrate CyVera technology, the ability to further scale oligo synthesis output and technology to satisfy market demand deriving from the Company's collaboration with Invitrogen, Illumina's ability to further develop and commercialize its BeadArray technologies and to deploy new gene expression and genotyping products and applications for its platform technology, to manufacture robust Sentrix® arrays - including HumanHap BeadChips -- and Oligator® oligonucleotides, and other factors detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including its 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. Illumina disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements beyond the date of this release.
Editors' Note
TagSNPs deliver high statistical value to geneticists because they serve as "proxies" for larger groups of SNPs, called haplotypes, which are inherited together. Researchers can analyze human populations comprehensively and efficiently by examining between 250,000 and 500,000 tagSNPs instead of the entire set of more than 10 million SNPs -- opening doors to genome-wide disease association studies such as those being conducted by Cancer Research UK. Sentrix HumanHap BeadChips are the only whole-genome genotyping arrays with tagSNP-centric content.
Illumina is also using its Sentrix HumanHap BeadChips to perform Infinium whole-genome genotyping on colorectal cancer samples and controls for Cancer Research-UK.
How Illumina Is Helping Scientists Understand the Genetic Basis of Cancer
Illumina markets a broad portfolio of integrated array-based solutions for understanding the genetic basis of cancer. In addition to the breakthrough Infinium assay, Illumina has also developed the DASL® assay, which enables cancer researchers to generate reproducible gene expression profiles from degraded RNAs such as those found in paraffin-embedded samples. Over 500 million such samples are estimated to exist globally for cancer alone. Illumina is also developing novel assay technologies to help scientists identify and analyze molecular mechanisms -- including DNA methylation and loss of heterozygosity -- that affect gene regulation and epigenetic activity associated with cancer phenotypes and disease progression.
In addition to genotyping services, Illumina also works with customers to install robust infrastructure solutions, including automation and LIMS (laboratory information management systems) for large-scale sample throughput, positive sample tracking, and data analysis and management. Illumina has installed its production-scale BeadLab at both the Mayo Clinic and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for large-scale, array-based research into the genetics of a range of different cancers. |
