On June 23, 2025, gene sequencing giant Illumina announced an acquisition for up to$425 million (approximately RMB 3 billion)to acquire the business and related assets of SomaLogic, a proteomics company under Standard BioTools.

According to the agreement,Illumina will pay $350 million in cash upfront and up to $75 million upon achieving specific performance milestones.

Once the news was out, the capital market reacted strongly: Monday morning during Nasdaq trading,Illumina's stock price remained flat at $90.34, whileStandard BioTools' Stock Price Surged 30% to $1.36. This acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, at which time Illumina will gain access to SomaScan testing services, licensed sites, and the KREX technology platform.

Details of Strategic Acquisition

The structure of this transaction was meticulously designed.Illumina paid $350 million upfront and $75 million in milestone payments, totaling $425 million.

As part of the transaction,Standard BioTools will retain commercialization rights to certain single SOMAmer reagents and receive a 2% royalty on net sales revenue from SOMAmer-based NGS library preparation kits for 10 years following the completion of the transaction.

The transaction has been obtainedThe transaction has received unanimous approval from the Board of Directors and Special Committee of Standard BioTools. It is currently awaiting regulatory approvals, including the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review, and is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

"Since acquiring SomaLogic 18 months ago, we have fundamentally transformed this business – repositioning the SomaScan technology, improving operations, investing in high-impact face-to-face research, and increasing strategic biobank activities," said Dr. Michael Egholm, President and CEO of Standard BioTools.

Egholm believes that Illumina is the "right strategic partner" to lead SomaScan into its next phase of growth.

A Key Step in the Multi-Omics Strategy

This acquisition is not the first collaboration between the two companies. In fact,The partnership between Illumina and SomaLogic dates back to December 2021, when the two parties established a technical collaboration.

Proteomics, as an important complement to genomics, can provide a more comprehensive biological perspective. Proteins are the direct executors of life activities, and their expression levels, modification states, and interactions directly determine cellular functions.

By the end of 2024, the fruits of the collaboration between the two parties —Illumina Protein Prep Kit Officially Released. This product uses SomaScan technology for aptamer-based protein capture, enabling the detection of 6,000 human protein targets in a single run, with plans to expand to 9,000 targets by early 2025.

"The acquisition of SomaLogic will strengthen Illumina's position in the rapidly expanding proteomics market and advance our multi-omics strategy announced in 2024," said Jacob Thaysen, CEO of Illumina.

Thaysen emphasized: "Illumina and SomaLogic have been working closely together for more than three years, and this collaboration enhances our ability to serve customers while accelerating our technology roadmap towards advanced biomarker discovery and disease analysis."

Reshape the Competitiveness of the Device Sector

AcquisitionSomaLogic Will Have a Profound Impact on Illumina's Instrumentation Sector. The most direct change is that proteomics consumables will become a new high-margin revenue source for Illumina.

Based onNGS's Proteomics Detection Panel Business Expected to Become Profitable by 2027. These High-Value Consumables Will Create Synergies with Illumina's Sequencing Platforms, Enhancing System Utilization and Customer Retention.

The NovaSeq X series platform will become the biggest beneficiary of this technical integration. The combination of SomaLogic's SOMAmer technology with NovaSeq X will enable Illumina to provide a one-stop multi-omics research solution from sample to analysis.

In the proteomics workflow,SOMAmer reagents contain photocleavable linkers and biotin. SOMAmer reagents bound to streptavidin beads can capture specific proteins from complex protein mixtures in serum or plasma.

The complex was then released back into solution by disrupting the photocleavable linker with UV light and subjected to relative quantification by next-generation sequencing.

Illumina Commits to Maintaining Openness of Its Sequencing Platforms, Continuing Support for Existing Proteomics Partnerships. This open strategy will help solidify its platform's central role in diversified omics research.

Global Genetic Testing Market Enters Boom Period

Behind this acquisition is the booming global genetic testing market.The global gene expression analysis market size is expected to reach USD 17.713 billion by 2025 and grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.64% from 2025 to 2030.

The epigenetic diagnostics market is expected to grow even more rapidly, fromFrom USD 17.9 billion in 2025 to USD 70.7 billion in 2034, with an annual compound growth rate as high as 16.5%. This growth is driven by a deeper understanding of the role of epigenetic changes during the disease process and advancements in diagnostic technologies.

North America occupies the largest share in the global market (39.7%), thanks to its advanced healthcare system, substantial R&D expenditure, and the adoption of precision medicine.

The European market is dominated by Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, collectively accounting for70%, and it is expected that by 2030 the market share will reach 22%.

The Asia-Pacific region is experiencing the fastest growth rate, with the Chinese market being particularly prominent, and it is expected that byThe market size will reach 4.56 billion US dollars in 2030.

Technological advancements are the core driver of market growth.The cost of NGS is declining at a rate faster than Moore's Law, and the cost of whole genome sequencing in 2023 has fallen below $1,000. Meanwhile, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instruments are becoming more portable, and the quantitative accuracy of digital PCR technology (dPCR) has improved to 0.1%.

Innovative Practices in China's Gene Testing Field

Following the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's export ban on Illumina sequencing instruments in March 2025, its 26.5% market share in China's new installations (approximately 389 units per year) was quickly released. This policy directly drove the market share of local brands from 47.3% in 2023 to over 60% in the first half of 2025. Among them, MGI Tech became the core beneficiary — top medical institutions such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital have adopted its DNBSEQ-T20 platform, marking a breakthrough for locally produced technology in the high-end market.

In addition, China is also actively promoting the Healthy China initiative.The 2030 Plan: A Strong Investment in Biotechnology Research to Provide Robust Support for Innovation in the Field of Genetic Testing.

In May 2025, Guangzhou City launched a pilot program for colorectal cancer genetic screening in three districts: Huadu, Huangpu, and Zengcheng, targeting residents aged 50-74.

The project innovatively adopts"Medical Insurance + Commercial Insurance" Model: The cost of colonoscopy for residents with positive screening results is jointly covered by medical insurance and commercial insurance, achieving "cost-sharing by multiple parties, zero payment by residents."

The project introduces a domestically developed fecal gene detection technology for colorectal cancer, providing technical support for community screening while also expanding diverse application scenarios for the development of Guangzhou's biomedicine industry.

In the short term, some research institutions still faceChallenges in Illumina Equipment Repair and Reagent Shortages (e.g., compatibility issues with cryo-EM analysis software). However, in the long term, by 2028, the localization rate of gene sequencers produced in China will exceed 85%, with local enterprises accelerating overseas expansion—MGI Tech's market share in Central and Eastern Europe grew 170% year-over-year in Q1 2025. The reshaping of the market landscape will ultimately drive China's transition from a technology follower to a standard setter.

The global genetic testing market is entering a new era of multi-omics integration. According to relevant industry reports,The global gene expression analysis market is expected to reach $17.7 billion by 2030, while the epigenetic diagnostics market is growing even more rapidly, surpassing $70 billion by 2034.

WithIllumina Completes Integration of SomaLogic: Proteomics Data to Be Deeply Integrated with Genomics and Epigenetics Data. This multi-dimensional life information analysis capability will redefine disease diagnosis and treatment, driving precision medicine from concept to full implementation.

This acquisition marksIllumina Takes a Crucial Step in Multi-Omics Strategy, Driving the Global Genetic Testing Market Towards Multi-Dimensional Integration. As technology converges and the market landscape reshapes, precision medicine is transitioning from concept to reality, with multi-omics technologies poised to bring new possibilities to disease diagnosis and treatment in the future.

▲ Source of the article: Medical Device Innovation Network

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