The combined company will be expected to offer a solution for next-generation sequencing, microarray, and real time PCR applications.
The acquisition provides direct access to Epicentre’s proprietary Nextera technology for next-generation sequencing library preparation, which simplifies genetic analysis workflows and reduces time from sample preparation to answer with cost effectiveness and ease of use.
Illumina president and CEO Jay Flatley said Epicentre’s Nextera technology provides a step-change improvement in library prep that will translate into greater ease of use, lower costs, and faster turnaround times for sequencing applications.
"In addition to Nextera, Epicentre is a leading supplier of specialty enzymes and kits that are beneficial to Illumina’s technologies," Flatley said.
In addition, Nextera technology requires 10-100 times less starting DNA, which enables applications with limited starting material such as tumor biopsies, degraded DNA, or purified RNA.
The unique features of Nextera sequencing library prep kits are all critical to advance the evolution of next-generation sequencing.
