forbes: Illumina Helps Shed Light On Cancer
Melinda Peer, 04.11.08, 8:00 PM ET
Illumina
You're only as good as your weakest link, which is why Illumina's cancer research products aim to tackle cancer by studying its tiniest mechanisms.
On Friday, Illumina (nasdaq: ILMN - news - people ) said it had developed three items for cancer research in hopes of accelerating scientists' ability to understand the molecular mechanisms that drive the disease.
Illumina's lofty goal is to turn medicine into a more customized business. While Starbucks has turned individualized coffee orders into a science, pharmaceutical and health care companies still take a "one-size-fits-all" approach. Eventually, Illumina hopes to use molecular diagnostics to offer patients tailor-made medicines. The company currently works to develop next-generation tools for the large-scale analysis of genetic function and variation.
The new products expand upon the company's current platforms. Advances in technology allow for whole-genome profiling, which cancer researchers are currently using to identify molecular profiles found in chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer.
The new technology opens up previously unavailable areas for study, according to one researcher. "We have a significant number of archived ovarian cancer samples, and this new approach has provided me with a way to finally access the information in these invaluable samples," said Dr. John Quackenbush in a press release.
In 2007, Illumina bought Solexa, a biotech company specializing in a macro approach to genetic sequencing (see " Illumina Buys Solexa").
In February, the company said sales rose 86.0%, to $112.6 millio,n from the previous year, making it the 26th consecutive quarter of revenue growth. Illumina posted a loss of 7 cents a share related to a $90 million patent litigation settlement twith o Affymetrix (nasdaq: AFFX - news - people ) over competing genetic products (See: " Affymetrix and Illumina Make A Deal").
Illumina gave first-quarter sales guidance for between $110 million and $115 million. It releases first-quarter results on Apr. 22. Its shares closed down by $2.62, or 3.3%, at $76.26 on Friday. |
