SAN DIEGO and TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (NYSE: SI) and Illumina have entered into a partnership aimed at setting new standards in the use of next-generation sequencing for the rapid, accurate identification of patients’ infectious disease states and potential treatment paths. Through this agreement, the companies plan to make existing Siemens molecular HIV tests compatible with the recently launched Illumina MiSeq™ next-generation sequencing platform, with the ultimate goal of introducing breakthrough sequencing-based infectious disease assays for the clinical diagnostics market.

“Next-generation sequencing is a transformational technology that we believe will significantly impact clinical diagnostics over the next five years,” said Michael Reitermann, CEO, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. “Our partnership with Illumina brings together two innovation leaders to set a new standard of care in the next wave of clinical diagnostics and personalized medicine.”

Next-generation genome sequencing (DNA sequencing) is the determination of the precise sequence of nucleotides in a sample of DNA. These data points help provide physicians with deeper insights into patients’ genetic characteristics, including suitability to drug regimens based on the genetic profile of an infectious disease; source of infection and insights into treatment directions; and personalized medicine status – both current disease state and susceptibility to future disease. According to a recent report in Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, Scientia Advisors estimates the next-generation sequencing market could reach $1.5 billion in sales by 2014, with a broader picture putting that figure closer to $3.6 billion(1).

Ten years ago the TRUGENE® HIV-1 Genotyping Assay, the first DNA sequencing-based test for HIV to be cleared by the FDA, was launched to a worldwide market. This laid the foundation for Siemens to become a leader in infectious disease testing solutions that employ DNA sequencing technology. Since then, TRUGENE has become one of the market’s leading DNA sequencing tests for infectious disease testing. By making its TRUGENE test compatible with Illumina’s MiSeq analyzer, Siemens expects to be well positioned to help even more clinical laboratories leverage next-generation sequencing for their infectious disease testing with the fastest turnaround time and highest accuracy possible.

“Partnerships with global leaders like Siemens are a key element of our strategy to drive widespread adoption of MiSeq in the clinical setting,” said Jay Flatley, CEO of Illumina. “Siemens has a long track record of success in developing regulated products for infectious disease testing and we are excited to join them in taking next-generation sequencing to this important market.”

Illumina (http://www.illumina.com) is a leading developer and manufacturer of life science tools and integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and function. We provide innovative sequencing and array-based solutions for genotyping, copy number variation analysis, methylation studies, gene expression profiling, and low-multiplex analysis of DNA, RNA and protein. We also provide tools and services that are fueling advances in consumer genomics and diagnostics. Our technology and products accelerate genetic analysis research and its application, paving the way for molecular medicine and ultimately transforming healthcare.

The Siemens Healthcare Sector is one of the world’s largest suppliers to the healthcare industry and a trendsetter in medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, medical information technology and hearing aids. Siemens offers its customers products and solutions for the entire range of patient care from a single source – from prevention and early detection to diagnosis, and on to treatment and aftercare. By optimizing clinical workflows for the most common diseases, Siemens also makes healthcare faster, better and more cost-effective. Siemens Healthcare employs some 48,000 employees worldwide and operates around the world. In fiscal year 2010 (to September 30), the Sector posted revenue of 12.4 billion euros and profit of around 750 million euros. For further information please visit: www.siemens.com/healthcare.