Illumina’s CEO Says Increasing Access to Testing Has Lifted Sales

(Bloomberg) -- Illumina Inc.’s top executive said increasing reimbursement for genetic screening by insurers and the company’s lower prices have helped drive a surge in demand for its testing products.

“We’re seeing a lot of progress in the genomics market in terms of making tests more available,” Chief Executive Officer Francis deSouza said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “For instance, we’ve seen a massive increase in reimbursement for cancer patients to use genomic tests.” 

The company has long been the largest player in the world of DNA sequencing, but deSouza unveiled this week at the virtual JPMorgan Healthcare Conference that Illumina would seek to diversify its position by launching its own long-read sequencing technology.

The pandemic has been a lucrative time for the company, with increased emphasis on sequencing not only in the medical world, but also in the realm of public health as the company has helped ramp up genomic surveillance of the coronavirus. 

Ahead of reporting fourth-quarter earnings later this month, this week Illumina announced preliminary quarterly revenue of $1.19 billion, up 25% from a year earlier. The company forecast 2022 revenue will rise as much as as 16% to a range of $5.15 billion to $5.24 billion as sequencing awareness, demand and adoption increase.

Long-read sequencing technology moves Illumina into an increasingly hot space for companies that decode DNA. While costly, long-read sequencers like those made by competitor Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. can decode extensive stretches of DNA with extreme accuracy. Adding the technology to its repertoire will allow Illumina to sequence the tricky parts of the genome that have thus far been a challenge for Illumina’s machines.

Originally, the company had sought to gain PacBio’s long-read technology in a $1.2 billion acquisition, but the deal fell apart when antitrust regulators stepped in. The company has also faced regulatory scrutiny over its purchase of cancer test upstart Grail, though that deal has gone ahead despite ongoing investigation by the European Commission.

In the interview, deSouza pushed back against antitrust concerns and said that the company is working with regulators on completing the deals.

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