USA's Illumina is a global leader in cancer test tools

This week Illumina, a San Diego, California based biotechnology company, said that it expects revenue growth in 2021 to exceed 25%. Illumina is a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of tools and systems for large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.

Demand is accelerating “as more patients, physicians and researchers than ever access the benefits of next generation sequencing (NGS),” chief executive Francis deSouza, said in a statement. “In addition, we are experiencing increased demand for COVID surveillance globally.”

Illumina says its focus is to improve human health by unlocking the power of the genome. It sells machines and chemicals for DNA sequencing and array-based solutions used in the research and analysis of samples and data to identify genetic variations. These are used in oncology, life sciences, reproductive health, genetic disease, agriculture, microbiology, and other areas by pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic, government, and other institutions around the globe. They are also used in experiments and analysis for disease research and the development of drugs and molecular tests to detect diseases.

Illumina’s business is research intensive – in 2020 it spent $682 million, more than a fifth of its $3.2 billion revenue, on research and development. It is also very profitable, with the company earning net profits of $656 million in 2020, a 20% net profit margin. The company has a market value of $56 billion.

Illumina’s Acquisition Moves

Last September, Illumina announced it was buying Grail for $8 billion in cash and stock. Grail, which is based in Menlo Park, California, was founded by Illumina in 2016. It was spun out as an independent company. Grail is using Illumina’s NGS technology to develop a blood-based DNA genome test for detecting up to 50 types of cancer - 45 of which have no screening in the U.S. - at very early stages.

The test “is among the most promising new tools in the fight against cancer,” said Illumina CEO Francis deSouza in a statement. The purchase of Grail will expand Illumina’s business to include proprietary cancer screening, diagnosis and cancer monitoring. The market for such cancer tests, Illumina estimates, will compound 27% annually, reaching $75 billion in 2035.

Investors in Grail, which is 12% owned by Illumina, include Mircrosoft co-founder Bill Gates, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expedition, Merck and Johnson & Johnson.

Last week the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to block Illumina’s proposed acquisition of Grail. Grail and other developers of these tests, the FTC says, “have no choice but to use Illumina NGS instruments and consumables.” Illumina is the only provider of DNA sequencing that is a viable option for these early detection tests in the United States, the FTC says. Illumina’s proposed acquisition of Grail, “would likely reduce innovation in this critical area of healthcare, diminish the quality of (the) tests, and make them more expensive,” said Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, acting FTC chairwoman in a statement. The potential lack of access would potentially prevent other companies than Grail from developing a rival test, the FTC argued.

Disagreeing with the FTC, Francis deSouza, Chief Executive Officer of Illumina noted that the company has offered a 12-year contract to supply its technology to potential Grail rivals. "Our whole ethos as a company is to drive the price of sequencing down," he said. Illumina says it will pursue all legal options in order to complete its acquisition of Grail. “Improving early cancer detection is the most promising approach to bending the cancer mortality curve,” said deSouza.

Cancer kills around 600,000 people annually in the U.S. and 10 million worldwide. Seventy-one percent of all deadly cancers do not currently have a screening test. Grail’s test correctly identified the tissue of origin in 93 % of the positive results, according to Illumina. If the acquisition is completed, Illumina says it will guarantee equal and fair access to sequencing to its clinical oncology customers and is also committed to drive down prices by more than 40 percent by 2025.

In January, Illumina abandoned its $1.2 billion deal to buy Pacific Biosciences after it was challenged in court by the FTC. Pacific Biosciences offers sequencing systems to help scientists resolve genetically complex problems. “Illumina is seeking to unlawfully maintain its monopoly in the U.S. market for next-generation DNA sequencing systems by extinguishing PacBio as a nascent competitive threat,” the FTC stated in its opposition to the deal.

The “proposed combination would have broadened access to Pacific Biosciences sequencing technology, significantly expanded and accelerated innovation, and ultimately increased the clinical utility and impact of sequencing,” said Francis deSouza, CEO of Illumina in a statement announcing the cancellation of the deal.

Francis deSouza, chief executive of Illumina

In 2013, deSouza, 50-years-old, joined Illumina as President to lead its business units. Three years later he was appointed chief executive. He owns over $290 million of Illumina stock. In 2019, he received a total compensation of $1.5 million; in 2018 $11.1 million; and in 2017 $8.8 million.  

Earlier deSouza co-founded IMlogic and Flash Communications. He was CEO of IMlogic, a vendor of protection software. In 2006, it was bought by Symantec for a reported $91 million. deSouza then served as President of Products and in other executive roles at Symantec, a provider of IT security software.

Prior to founding IMlogic, deSouza was a co-founder and CEO of Flash Communications, a provider of corporate instant messaging. It was acquired by Microsoft in 1998 for an undisclosed price. deSouza stayed on at Microsoft, leading a team developing the company’s enterprise real-time collaboration offerings.

deSouza serves on the board of The Walt Disney Company. In 1992, he received a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His mother, a home maker, was Ethiopian Greek and his father was from India. His paternal grandparents were from Parra and Anjuna in Goa, according to the Goan Voice. His father was a commercial representative for a Japanese trading company. Before he was 5, deSouza’s family moved to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In 1987, at age 16, he graduated from St. Mary's Catholic High School in Dubai and was admitted to MIT.

Joydeep Goswami heads Illumina’s strategy and acquisitions

Another Indian American at Illumina is Joydeep Goswami, senior vice president of Corporate Development and Strategic Planning. He is also responsible for acquisitions.

Earlier Goswami served as the President of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Clinical Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Oncology business unit, where he oversaw efforts that drove the adoption of NGS in clinical oncology, research and reproductive health.

Goswami has held senior leadership in the pharma/biotech, diagnostics and research tool areas, previously serving at Life Technologies and Invitrogen. He has led sales, marketing, R&D and other teams.

He served as President, Asia Pacific and Japan while at Thermo Fisher Scientific and created the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Business Unit at Invitrogen. Previously he spent five years at McKinsey, where he specialized in strategy for pharmaceutical, medical technology and technology companies.

Goswami earned an MS, PhD in Chemical Engineering, an MBA from MIT and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Francis deSouza’s photo is from his Twitter account, where he has 8,000 followers.

To receive Global Indian TImes stories kindly connect through either:

TWITTER: HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/GLOBALINDIANTI2  

FACEBOK: FB.ME/GLOBALINDIANTIMES

EMAIL: GITIMESCONTACT@GMAIL.COM

(c) Global Indian Times. Prior written permission required to reproduce any content. All rights reserved under U.S. copyright laws.