deCODE, Illumina to develop, commercialize DNA-based diagnostics

By Lisa Kerner

Erie, Pa, May 15 - deCODE genetics and Illumina, Inc. formed a strategic alliance to co-develop, validate and commercialize DNA-based diagnostic tests for gene variants involved in heart attack, type 2 diabetes and breast cancer using Illumina's single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping platform.

Under the agreement, Illumina will have access to disease-related biomarkers for joint validation as diagnostic panels, to be marketed and sold by Illumina on its BeadXpress platform, according to a company news release.

deCODE and Illumina will share development costs and split the profits from sales of the diagnostics tests.

Illumina will install its SNP genotyping platform at deCODE, enabling deCODE to offer customers both Illumina platform and assay technologies and its own proprietary analytical services.

deCODE said it will use the SNP platform in Iceland in its whole-genome studies with more than 100,000 participants and 50 common diseases.

"This alliance enables us to strengthen our global leadership in using human genetics to discover and develop better medicine - accelerating our target discovery work and enabling us to generate near-term product revenue from the development of diagnostics," deCODE chief executive officer Kari Stefansson said in the release.

deCODE, located in Reykjavik, Iceland, genetics applies human genetics to develop drugs for common diseases.

San Diego-based Illumina develops and markets next-generation tools for the large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.

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