Transformative alliance will help advance the World Health Organization's strategy to end the global TB epidemic by 2035
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, and GenoScreen, an innovative genomics company, today announced a partnership to accelerate progress to end tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. The partnership will expand capabilities for countries most impacted by tuberculosis to more effectively detect and combat multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). This alliance will enable global access to a package combining Illumina sequencing products and the GenoScreen Deeplex® Myc-TB assay, a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) based test for rapid and extensive detection of anti-TB drug resistance, to promptly inform treatment decision. This will help advance the World Health Organization's (WHO) strategy to end the global TB epidemic by 2035.
"Through our partnership, we will enable lower-income countries to confront the pervasive threat of TB and work toward eliminating it," said Phil Febbo, chief medical officer of Illumina. "The COVID-19 pandemic response led to expanded NGS capacity around the world, so now institutions have the platforms needed to support testing for TB drug resistance and improve survival for patients with TB, the leading infectious disease killer prior to COVID."
According to the WHO, TB is the first worldwide bacterial infectious killer, claiming over 1.5 million lives each year. And even though TB can be cured when appropriately treated, MDR-TB represents a global public health emergency. In 2019, an estimated 465,000 people developed TB with rifampicin resistance (RR) or MDR, yet only 40% of these cases were detected and enrolled on MDR-TB treatment. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, deaths from TB increased for the first time in a decade.
"As a world specialist in TB genomic solutions, we envision this partnership with Illumina as an accelerator for the global deployment of our Deeplex Myc-TB assay, especially for countries with the highest needs," said André Tordeux, CEO of GenoScreen.
Standard culture-based testing methods currently incur turnaround times of up to two months, and conventional molecular assays are limited in identifying drug resistance. The combined use of the GenoScreen Deeplex Myc-TB assay and the Illumina NGS platforms allows much more rapid determination of extensive drug resistance profiles and TB strain types affecting patients.
The Deeplex Myc-TB assay, developed and produced by GenoScreen since 2019, uses a culture-free approach to identify TB mycobacteria and more than 100 non-TB mycobacterial species, and to predict resistance to 15 antibiotics, in 24 to 48 hours—directly from primary respiratory samples. The Deeplex web application for automated analysis of the sequencing data enables clinicians to easily interpret the results and best define personalized treatments.
"The Deeplex Myc-TB kit is the most comprehensive commercial molecular test for detection of anti-TB-drug resistance available to date," said Philip Supply, research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research. "We are continually updating the technology to detect emerging resistance to the newest anti-TB drugs."
Implementing NGS testing will also benefit national TB programs around the world by providing critical surveillance data about resistance to different anti-TB drugs—important information for high-burden countries to guide TB control strategies.
Use of forward-looking statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors to which Illumina's business is subject that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are challenges inherent in developing, manufacturing, and launching new products and services, and Illumina's ability to successfully partner with other companies and organizations to develop new products, expand markets, and grow its business, together with other factors detailed in Illumina's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most 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 undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update these forward-looking statements, to review or confirm analysts' expectations, or to provide interim reports or updates.
About Illumina
Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit illumina.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
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SOURCE Illumina, Inc.
