DNA Sequencing Giant Illumina Moves into BioPark
Global genome sequencing powerhouse Illumina, Inc. recently celebrated the grand opening of a new training facility in gleaming, light-filled offices at the in downtown Baltimore.
Marianne Navarro (right), representing the Mayor鈥檚 Office of Neighborhood Development, presents Illumina vice president of Americas service and support Eleezeh Safarians with a citation on behalf of Mayor Jack Young.
The 13,000-square-foot Illumina Solutions Center provides training labs and office space for customers and commercial teams. It is the company鈥檚 first commercial location on the East Coast and will host hundreds of customers annually.
Illumina, Inc., whose mission statement is 鈥淯nlocking the Power of the Genome,鈥� is an international leader in DNA sequencing array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets.
Illumina鈥檚 technology, which is responsible for generating more than 90 percent of the world's sequencing data, allows customers to read and understand genetic variations. Its sequencing systems are propelling advances in medicine and health care unimaginable even a few years ago.
The San Diego-based company joins more than 40 companies in the UM BioPark, which employs more than 1,000 people in a combination of biomedical research, technology, and medical device companies alongside education and workforce development programs. Adjacent to the 91大神, Baltimore (UMB), the BioPark offers access to UMB鈥檚 medical center, translational research, and clinical treatment center.
Eleezeh Safarians, Illumina鈥檚 vice president of Americas Service and Support, said the BioPark was the right choice for East Coast expansion because its biotechnology commercialization and economic development mission merge with the company鈥檚 culture and long-term goals. 鈥淲e were looking for an area where we could cultivate a culture of collaboration, a culture of openness, a culture of innovation,鈥� she said.
Speaking to a crowd of about 75 people, UMB President Jay A. Perman, MD, thanked Illumina for choosing Baltimore and settling into the UM BioPark. 鈥淵ou made a good choice,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou had other options and you chose us.鈥�
Perman went on to tout UMB鈥檚 commitment to innovation, groundbreaking research, and proximity to federal labs and agencies. 鈥淵ou chose our . You chose our world-renowned (IGS). You signed onto the game-changing work we鈥檙e doing here at UMB 颅鈥� the work that Dr. Claire Fraser [IGS director] and her team are doing every day.鈥�
In fact, IGS has been using Illumina sequencing technology since 2007, and adjacency to its working core labs was a key factor in Illumina鈥檚 decision to join the thriving BioPark community of life sciences companies.
鈥淲e believe this location will facilitate collaborative engagement in research activities with our academic partner, the 91大神, Baltimore,鈥� noted Mark Van Oene, senior vice president and chief commercial officer for Illumina. 鈥淲e are inspired by all the ways genomics can stimulate economic activity to maximize impact in the region and fuel research with the potential to improve health outcomes for patients.鈥�
Jim Berens, chief executive officer of Wexford Science and Technology, said he鈥檚 delighted to have Illumina in the BioPark. Recognizing the company, which WIRED magazine called the 鈥淕oogle of genetic testing,鈥� as an industry juggernaut that could have located anywhere, Berens shared, 鈥淎ttracting Illumina, a premier life sciences company, to the BioPark reinforces the value of combining University research, entrepreneurial activity, corporate management, and community development in a dense, collaborative, programmed environment.鈥�
Signe Pringle, Maryland鈥檚 assistant secretary of commerce, agreed. 鈥淭his is exciting news for us. We welcome these companies and we want them to grow and thrive here. It鈥檚 our job, together with the University, to provide the tools and resources for them to grow.鈥�
