Illumina Singapore, a subsidiary of Illumina and Trivitron Healthcare, have entered into a strategic partnership to develop and expand the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based in-vitro diagnostic tests (IVD) in India.

Over the next four years, Illumina and Trivitron intend to develop and distribute a suite of standardized, commercial IVD assays to deliver an effective and non-invasive way of diagnosing cancers, determining infectious pathogens, and identifying prenatal diseases. The assays will be cost-effective, easy to use, and have high throughput capabilities.

“Illumina believes in democratizing access to sequencing. There is a vital need to make genomic technology and precision medicine available to all.” said Gretchen Weightman, Head of Global Commercial Strategy and General Manager of Asia Pacific and Japan at Illumina.

In numerous neurological and rare disorders, where clinical characteristics can be confusing, NGS-based approaches have demonstrated considerable increases in disease detection rates over other approaches. Similarly, tailored NGS panels have allowed for the rapid, non-invasive, and cost-effective diagnosis and prognosis of a variety of malignancies, as well as the detection of infectious pathogens and the identification of a variety of prenatal disorders.

 “We are pleased to announce our partnership with Illumina as we will be able to develop creative, adaptable, and scalable solutions to address the demands of Indian patients as a result of our collaboration.” said Dr. GSK Velu, Chairman & Managing Director, Trivitron Healthcare.