Adaptive Biotechnologies signed a deal with Illumina, the largest genetic sequencing firm in the U.S., to produce kits that can read the human immune system to detect diseases at labs across the country.
The idea is to make Adaptive’s immune sequencing tech easier to access for clinicians and patients. Currently, healthcare providers must send samples directly to Adaptive for analysis. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Illumina partnership is the latest big-name agreement for Seattle-based Adaptive, which is also working on a large drug-discovery project with Genentech and is developing an AI-based universal blood test with Microsoft. Last week, Adaptive inked a deal with Amgen to test for traces of blood diseases in drug development programs.
The kits, which will run on Illumina’s NextSeq 550Dx system, will incorporate two of Adaptive’s sequencing technologies:
- The ClonoSEQ Assay, which can detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients with blood cancers.
- The ImmunoSEQ Dx Assay, which will be used for early detection and monitoring of diseases by clinicians in patients for pipeline applications.
“By making Adaptive’s clonoSEQ more accessible to patients, we are ensuring health care providers have access to a valuable part of a growing genomics ecosystem,” Illumina’s chief medical officer Dr. Phil Febbo said in a statement. “We are committed to unlocking the power of the genome through our work with Adaptive which will expand access to genomic-based testing in order to improve patient outcomes.”
Adaptive was founded by Chad Robins and his brother Harlan Robins, a researcher who developed the sequencing technology while at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The company went public in June, raising $300 million in a dramatic IPO that saw the company’s valuation double on the first day of trading. Following the IPO, Adaptive announced plans to triple the size of its headquarters in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood.
“These [in-vitro diagnostic] test kits will further validate Adaptive as a valued partner for standardized MRD monitoring and immune profiling solutions from research to the clinic,” said Adaptive CEO Chad Robins.
