Illumina (ILMN) to Expand Genomics Capacity With New Pact

Illumina, Inc. ILMN recently collaborated with African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) to develop a training academy. The collaboration is intended to increase Africa’s genomics capacity.

The collaboration is built on the organizations’ shared goals to expand sequencing capabilities and capacity for all people in Africa. It will impact every area of precision medicine, from drug development to cancer screening, therapy selection and monitoring.

The latest move will fortify Illumina’s goals to strengthen its foothold in the multi-billion gene sequencing market globally.

More on Collaboration

In February, Illumina and ACEGID signed a memorandum of understanding to leverage the existing pathogen Genomics and Bioinformatics Bootcamp program at ACEGID. The agreement is intended to set up a training program targeting 1,000 young African researchers and scientists in Genomics and Bioinformatics between March 2023 and December 2025.

The organizations collaborated to launch a Genomics and Bioinformatics training Academy within ACEGID at Redeemer’s University, Ede, Nigeria. The two organizations will also work toward associations for pharmacogenomics and precision oncology for Africans.

Strategic Implications

This collaboration is intended to be a landmark in the African genomics and public health space, tackling the needs for both human resources development and infrastructure for proper training to allow enhanced capacity for genomics on the continent. This will significantly increase the supply of qualified technical workforce for next-generation sequencing wet lab management, bioinformatics, big data analytics and advanced artificial intelligence/machine learning applications.

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Both organizations share a collective goal of extending the reach of genomic technologies and their impacts on patients. Per Illumina management, Africa has the highest genetic diversity of any continent. With this collaboration, Illumina is taking the opportunity to contribute to the future of accessing that diversity for the benefit of human health.

Industry Prospects

Per a report by Grand View Research, the global whole genome sequencing market was valued at $1,645.2 million in 2022 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 20.06% by 2030. The growing prevalence of genetic disorders and mutations that lead to cancer progression are the main factors driving the market.

Strong Prospects in Genetic Health Market

Illumina is keeping pace with its goals to strengthen its foothold in the multi-billion gene sequencing worldwide market with some highly-competitive products in its existing portfolio and pipeline. This market is developing rapidly on a global scale, allowing the company to witness continuous growth in the number of non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) samples.

In January 2023, Illumina, together with Nashville Biosciences LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), entered into an agreement with Amgen on sequencing. Per the agreement, the companies plan to do a whole-genome sequence of approximately 35,000 DNA samples.

Share Price

In the past six months, Illumina has outperformed its industry. The stock has gained 12% compared with the 4% rise of the industry.

Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Illumina carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Hologic, Inc. HOLX, Henry Schein, Inc. HSIC and Avanos Medical, Inc. AVNS.
Hologic, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, has an estimated long-term

growth rate of 15.2%. HOLX’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 30.6%.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Hologic has gained 3.3% against the industry’s 17.1% growth in the past year.

Henry Schein, carrying a Zacks Rank #1 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 8.1%. HSIC’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and matched the same in the other, the average beat being 2.9%.

Henry Schein has lost 6.2% compared with the industry’s 5.8% decline in the past year.

Avanos, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an estimated growth rate of 1.8% for 2023. AVNS’ earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 11%.

Avanos has lost 10.2% compared with the industry’s 17.1% decline in the past year.

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