Scale-up of Illumina’s Next-Generation Sequencing Platform Increases BGI’s Total Genome Analyzer Capacity to 29 Units

SAN DIEGO–Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) today announced that BGI purchased 12 additional Genome Analyzers, expanding their installed base of Illumina’s next-generation sequencing platforms to 29 units. Of the new units, four will be installed at BGI, Shenzhen and eight will be installed at BGI, Hong Kong. This added capacity will help researchers at BGI expedite efforts around key programs such as the 1000 Genomes Project, the Chinese Cancer Genome project, the Tree of Life project, and other initiatives that accelerate BGI’s work in agriculture, human health, and biofuels.

“Purchasing 12 Genome Analyzers from Illumina is the first step in a multi-phase scale-up effort we plan to carry out in the near future. And with the opening of our new research facility in Hong Kong we wanted to arm our team of scientists with what we believe is the best in class sequencing technology,” said Xiuqing Zhang, Ph.D., Director of Sequencing Division at BGI.

BGI is among the world’s leading scientific organizations committed to helping researchers understand biology and medicine through the use of large-scale sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. The Institute also offers sequencing services to the international community. BGI promotes the use of genome-scale scientific approaches and strongly supports collaborative efforts in order to achieve this goal. Besides Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Beijing, BGI recently set up another five branches in China, one branch in the United States, and one branch in Europe; for both sequencing service and scientific collaboration.

“BGI’s decision to exclusively scale-up with the Genome Analyzer further validates their confidence in our sequencing technology and our ability to improve read length, data density, and ease of use,” said Matt Posard, Vice President of Sales at Illumina. “Earlier this year we announced a clear and demonstrable path for researchers to generate 25x coverage of a human genome for less than $10,000 in 2009. By following this path, we hope to enable researchers to embark on ambitious projects that they never thought possible.”

About the Illumina Genome Analyzer

Designed for facilities of all sizes, the Illumina Genome Analyzer has been adopted across genome centers worldwide, plus individual research labs, core and service facilities, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The Genome Analyzer offers the highest rate of daily output and the simplest and most user-friendly workflow. The Genome Analyzer also offers the broadest set of supported applications, including those used to profile and discover novel transcripts, to create a high-resolution genome-wide map of DNA-protein binding sites and to sequence entire human genomes to greater than 30x coverage.

For more information about the Genome Analyzer and to read what customers are doing with Illumina’s sequencing technology, please visit https://www.illumina.com/sequencing.

About Illumina

Illumina (www.illumina.com) is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of next-generation life-science tools and integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological function. Using our proprietary technologies, we provide a comprehensive line of products and services that currently serve the sequencing, genotyping, and gene expression markets, and we expect to enter the market for molecular diagnostics. Our customers include leading genomic research centers, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, clinical research organizations, and biotechnology companies. Our tools provide researchers around the world with the performance, throughput, cost effectiveness, and flexibility necessary to perform the billions of genetic tests needed to extract valuable medical information from advances in genomics and proteomics. We believe this information will enable researchers to correlate genetic variation and biological function, which will enhance drug discovery and clinical research, allow diseases to be detected earlier, and permit better choices of drugs for individual patients.

“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: this release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are Illumina’s ability (i) to develop and commercialize further our BeadArray™, VeraCode®, and Solexa® technologies and to deploy new sequencing, gene expression, and genotyping products and applications for our technology platforms, (ii) to manufacture robust instrumentation and reagents technology, together with other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including our 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. We disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements beyond the date of this release.