Beijing Genomics Institute Signs Multi-Million Dollar Order for 11 Additional Illumina Genome Analyzers
April 22, 2008
New Capacity Will Triple BGI's Rate of Whole-Genome Sequencing Projects
SAN DIEGO -- Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) today announced that in early March Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI) purchased 11 Genome Analyzers, increasing the organization's total number of the Illumina sequencing systems to 17. BGI is the fourth genome center to expand its Genome Analyzer install base to double digits. As a result of recent enhancements to the Genome Analyzer, BGI researchers will have the capacity to sequence more than two human genomes to 25x coverage per week. This significant increase in throughput will expand BGI's capacity for sequencing services to the local genetic research labs, as well as broaden the range and pace of sequencing projects undertaken by the organization, such as the YangHuang 99 project, the 1000 Genomes Project, the Giant Panda Project, the tree of life project, and numerous other large-scale initiatives.
"BGI is focused on accelerating the rate of scientific discovery, and expanding our understanding of genetic variation and diversity across human genomes. We have worked closely with Illumina to determine ways to dramatically increase our sequencing capacity in order to efficiently and quickly complete several new large sequencing projects," stated Xiuqing Zhang, Director of the Sequencing Division of the Beijing Genomics Institute. "After rigorously testing this sequencing platform, we opted to purchase the additional Genome Analyzers because of the machine's enhanced level of performance, price, and ease of use. Combined with the longer 500bp reads from other platforms, Illumina is the most suitable high throughput sequencing platform for accurate de novo genome sequencing. The collaborative relationship that we established with Illumina this past year also played a significant role in our decision to scale up to 17 Genome Analyzers."
Uit:
Artikel