Partners HealthCare and Illumina Announce Founding Members of GeneInsight Network

BOSTON & SAN DIEGO --(Business Wire)--

Partners HealthCare and Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) today announced the GeneInsight-Illumina Founding Network Members, including the ARUP Laboratories, Mount Sinai Genetic Testing Laboratory, New York Genome Center (NYGC), Partners HealthCare, and Illumina. The members represent a diverse and distinguished group of laboratories within leading academic institutions and commercial organizations who are interested in leveraging clinical-grade genomics interpretation and reporting. The members are committed to exploring and sharing knowledge, including variant level content and interpretations, through the formation of inter-laboratory collaborations and "knowledge rings." The network will be opened widely later in 2013 to other institutions willing to share clinical genomic data.

"Today's announcement reinforces our commitment to establishing a community-based approach to addressing some of the most challenging issues related to clinical next-generation sequencing," said Heidi Rehm, PhD, Chief Laboratory Director, Partners' Laboratory for Molecular Medicine. "We're excited to bring together such a talented and diverse group of leading institutions who share a common vision and are passionate about the opportunities for collaboration to advance the field of clinical genetics."

Elaine Lyon, PhD, Medical Director, ARUP Laboratories echoes this sentiment and expressed her enthusiasm for a community approach to curating variant knowledge saying, "As a user of the GeneInsight application, I look forward to participating in a network of leading genetic testing laboratories and academic institutions to curate genetic variants. This collaborative effort can greatly contribute to improving patient care."

The founding members are serving as initial pilot sites for the deployment and implementation of a combined offering that integrates the functionality of Illumina's MiSeq® sequencing system and Partners GeneInsight Suite®, an IT platform that streamlines the analysis, interpretation, and reporting of complex genetic test results. As pilot sites, the members have a unique opportunity to represent the community of clinical lab professionals, geneticists and genetic counselors to improve upon the combined GeneInsight-Illumina offering and to prepare it for general release. They also will be instrumental in developing a resource that has the potential to add to the effectiveness of genetic testing.

Another founding member, the New York Genome Cener, is an independent, non-profit organization leveraging the collaborative resources of leading academic medical centers, research universities, and commercial organizations to create one of the largest genomics research facilities in North America. As an enterprise focused squarely on fostering a collaborative environment, it believes its involvement in the network will help drive the translation of basic research into clinical care.

"The New York Genome Center has brought together leading research, clinical, and technology collaborators in an effort to transform science and healthcare," said Nancy J. Kelley, NYGC Founding Executive Director. "Partners HealthCare and Illumina share our vision for innovation through collaboration, so we are privileged to be a Founding Member of the GeneInsight-Illumina Network. We look forward to using these new tools with other members of the network to promote discovery and improve patient care."

In September 2012, Partners HealthCare and Illumina announced their strategic alliance and shared commitment to bringing a broader community of clinical laboratories together to expand and enrich collective knowledge about genetics with the goal of improving patient care.

"Today's announcement represents a significant milestone toward achieving GeneInsight and Illumina's shared vision of enabling the market to apply sequencing technology to improve human health. Illumina is excited to be among such reputable founding members and is committed to using GeneInsight in our CLIA-certified, CAP accredited laboratory to support the growing demand for our Understand Your Genome Symposia," said Matt Posard, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Illumina's Translational and Consumer business.

About Partners HealthCare

Partners HealthCare is a Boston-based integrated health system founded by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital that also includes community and specialty hospitals, community health centers, a physician network, and home health and long-term care services. Further information can be found by visiting www.partners.org.

About GeneInsight, LLC

GeneInsight LLC (www.geneinsight.com) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Partners HealthCare. GeneInsight Suite® was developed by Partners HealthCare in collaboration with leading geneticists, laboratory operations personnel, practicing physicians and IT professionals. GeneInsight has been in clinical use since 2005 and has supported the interpretation and reporting workflow for more than 25,000 complex genetic tests across multiple diagnostic reference laboratories, including Partners HealthCare Laboratory for Molecular Medicine.

About Illumina

Illumina (www.illumina.com) is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, or in information disclosed in public conference calls, the date and time of which are released beforehand. We do not intend to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this release.