Illumina Officially Launches First China Manufacturing Facility, Marking a New Chapter in Localized and Diversified Strategy

ShanghaiAugust 25, 2022PR Newswire -- Today, Illumina officially opened its first manufacturing base in China, located in Shanghai, with plans to gradually achieve full local production of high-end gene sequencing instruments and consumables over the next five years. The total investment for Phase I of the project is nearly 50 million RMB, and the company plans to invest more than 450 million RMB over the next five years to build up its manufacturing capabilities in China. In the future, Illumina's Shanghai manufacturing base will become its third regional production center globally, ultimately realizing the strategic vision of "Made in China, for the World."

Ruxin Hong, Head of Illumina's China Production Base, Introduces the Manufacturing Facility

Illumina's China Manufacturing Base Adopts Global Quality Control Standards and Digital, Intelligent Production Management Processes. The first phase achieves localized manufacturing of 16 clinical application sequencing reagents, with plans to deliver the first batch of products to Chinese users by the end of this year. In recent years, encouraged by strong industrial policy guidance and the rapid development of China’s biopharmaceutical industry, Illumina has successively completed strategic initiatives such as upgrading its Greater China headquarters, investing in the construction of distribution and spare parts centers, and co-building a genomics incubator. The new Illumina China Manufacturing Base represents another significant milestone in the company’s ongoing investment in China and its commitment to advancing the country’s biogenetics industry.

Kevin Pegels, Illumina's Global Operations Head, stated, "This is our first production and manufacturing base in China, following those in the United States and Singapore. It brings in Illumina's mature experience in global production, manufacturing, and supply chain operations, integrating with the continuously improving comprehensive efficiency of China’s local industrial chain. This provides a key element for expanding the global supply chain system and enhancing overall resilience."

The "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Shanghai's Biomedical Industry" clearly states that the development direction is aimed at "high-end, intelligent, and internationalization." In March this year, Illumina's Greater China headquarters was recognized by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce as a regional headquarters of a multinational company. Now, with its initial scale of operations in China, Illumina will further empower local innovation and technological transformation in China’s bio-genomics industry, supporting the integrated development of the innovation chain, industrial chain, and value chain.

Illumina's Global Senior Vice President and General Manager of Greater China, Li Qing, Introduces the Production and Manufacturing Base

"The official launch of the manufacturing base in China marks a new level and a fresh starting point for Illumina in advancing the high-quality development of China's life science and genetic testing industries," said Eric Li, Senior Vice President of Illumina and General Manager of Greater China. "In the future, Illumina will continue to deepen its localized development strategy, maintaining ongoing investment across the entire value chain in China, harnessing the power of genomics to improve the health of people across China and around the world."

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