There's Something Wrong With Illumina's Gene Sequencing Machine

Recently exposed flaws in Illumina, Inc. ILMN’s gene sequencing technology, which jeopardize past medical achievements and delay progress, sent the company’s stock plunging 2 percent Friday.

Cross-contamination has allegedly skewed the results of numerous sequencing endeavors, forcing many project managers to backtrack, reexamine fundamental processes, retract papers, discard experiments and perform expensive, time-consuming repeats.

Individual labs worldwide discovered data errors at staggered intervals, but awareness spread and a cohesive voice of concern rose early April when reports circulated on Twitter, Inc. TWTR. Illumina shortly issued a response.

The company then published a report to its website acknowledging its long-held awareness of the issue and methods to minimize its effect.

The Issue Is Significant

The scope of concern is significant. According to Wired, Illumina’s products sequence 90 percent of the sector’s genetic data, and the particular error could have corrupted two years' worth of studies.

The machines in question are the HiSeq 4000, which sequences hundreds of samples concurrently, and ExAmp, which magnifies faint genetic signals to enable sequencing of very small samples. Gene research teams, such as that of the University of California, use the HiSeq 4000 for about 90 percent of its sequencing processes, while clinical researchers sector-wide employ ExAmp and related machines for high-precision work, such as liquid cancer biopsies.

The stock recovered about 2 percent Monday to a rate of $179.31 and was trading around $179.13 at the time of publication.

Related Links:

What Would A $5.8 Billion NIH Cut Look Like? Devastation

A Roadmap To How An ACA Repeal Bill Could Hit Trump's Desk By Memorial Day ____________ Image Credit: By Jon Callas from San Jose, USA (Illumina Gene Sequencing machine) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Posted In: BiotechNewsHealth CareMoversTechTrading IdeasGeneralExAmpHiSeq 4000wired
We simplify the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Loading...