San Diego-based Illumina Inc. and aerospace giant Lockheed Martin announced a strategic alliance Monday to collaborate on scalable and affordable genomics solutions for personalized health care on a worldwide basis.
Using genomics to analyze a person’s DNA sequence can provide a better understanding of health risks, resulting in more precise and proactive medicine. By aggregating genomic data across large populations, public health and wellness officials can more effectively address health concerns, reducing health care costs and improving quality of life.
The alliance brings together Illumina’s next-generation genetic sequencing tools with Lockheed Martin’s expertise in large-scale information systems and integration to meet the needs of countries as they begin to integrate genomics into their national health systems.
“Genomics is enabling a fundamental transformation of health care,” said Horace Blackman, vice president of Health & Life Sciences for Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions business. “We envision the advantages of early national adoption for countries across the globe, applying clinical decision support applications that can improve health and health care, and lower national health care costs.”
“We look forward to working with Lockheed Martin and global health care leaders as we develop best-in-class solutions to realize the full potential of nation-scale sequencing,” said Jay Flatley, chief executive officer of Illumina. “We are excited about this collaboration, given the breadth and depth of Lockheed Martin’s operations and strategic relationships around the globe.”
Illumina has emerged as the global leader in gene sequencing and DNA array technologies. In March, the editors of the MIT Technology Review named Illumina the “smartest company in the world.”