Illumina and ReaMetrix Announces Collaboration

Illumina, Inc. and ReaMetrix, Inc. have announced the formation of a diagnostic collaboration under which the companies plan to co-develop molecular diagnostic panels for a range of disease areas.

Under the terms of the agreement, ReaMetrix will gain non-exclusive rights to market the resulting panels to the country of India and its more than one billion inhabitants. Illumina will retain rights to market the tests outside of India.

Illumina will supply VeraCode™ technology and other reagents for the tests.

ReaMetrix will develop, validate and market diagnostic panels based on Illumina's upcoming BeadXpress™ platform, scheduled for market introduction before the end of the calendar year.

ReaMetrix will drive market development activities from its operation in Bangalore, India.

According to Bala Manian, Ph.D., ReaMetrix Chief Executive Officer, "India's rapidly emerging healthcare system presents a tremendous opportunity to leapfrog current diagnostics and chart a new path with innovative molecular and pharmacogenomic testing."

"Teaming up with Illumina and its BeadXpress diagnostic platform, we see a significant opportunity to drive the evolution toward the efficiencies inherent in targeted, personalized medicine."

"In targeting the wide-open Indian market, we will be creating products that will drive value the world over."

According to Jay Flatley, President and CEO of Illumina, "Many of us in the genomics community know Bala Manian from past lives."

"Bala is a true visionary and we're looking forward to working closely with him and his team to develop and validate novel diagnostic panels that will help predict the risk of disease, enable earlier intervention and guide therapy."

"For Illumina, this agreement represents another important step forward into the clinical diagnostics market."