The Dream Has Become a Reality

Rest easy doubters and naysayers, for it has finally happened… The $1000 genome has finally arrived!

Today, at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, two giants of the genetic testing and research market revealed two new products whose releases mark a historic day for the genetic analysis industry as a whole.  Thanks to Illumina and Life Technologies (via Ion Torrent), the long-held dream of the $1000 genome has finally become a reality.  Both companies used their moment in the sun to spotlight each of their soon-to-be-released genomic sequencing instruments: the Benchtop Ion Proton from Life Technologies and the HiSeq 2500 from Illumina.

The Ion Proton is the official successor to Life Tech and Ion Torrent’s already well-received PGM, which was released back in early 2011.  The HiSeq 2500 is an extension of Illumina’s popular HiSeq product line of sequencing systems. The Ion Proton is anticipated to cost approximately $224,000 in total ($149,000 for the system itself and $75,000 for the necessary server).  Pricing for the HiSeq 2500 has not yet been made official, but some reports suggest that the list price for the device will be roughly $740,000.  Both devices are expected to be available by mid-2012, and Life Tech is already said to be taking orders on its system.

What makes these dueling announcements so monumental is that both systems not only promise researchers the ability to sequence the human genome for a mere $1000, but they are also able to do so in only a day.  With the ability to sequence genomes in only a day as opposed to weeks or months, the value of these devices with regard to their potential clinical applications becomes much more pronounced.  The prices, especially, could make the widespread adoption of these systems much more plausible for scientists, physicians, and researchers in the near future.

To read more on these announcements from Illumina and Life Technologies, please click here.