Illumina Acquires SomaLogic to Accelerate Proteomics Business

Illumina, Inc. (San Diego, CA, USA) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire SomaLogic (Boulder, CO, USA), a leader in data-driven proteomics technology, and other specified assets for USD 350 million in cash payable at closing, subject to customary adjustments, plus up to USD 75 million in near-term performance-based milestones and performance-based royalties.

This transaction builds on a co-development agreement Illumina established with SomaLogic in December 2021 to bring the SomaScan Proteomics Assay onto Illumina's high-throughput next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms. Illumina Protein Prep is currently in use with nearly 40 early-access customers globally and will become available to all customers starting in the third quarter of 2025. Combining SomaLogic's proteomics technology with Illumina's scalable NGS ecosystem, DRAGEN software, and Illumina Connected Multiomics will accelerate the technology development roadmap for proteomics and reduce the time and cost of proteomic research.

Image: Illumina’s acquisition of SomaLogic aims to strengthen its presence in the proteomics market (Photo courtesy of Illumina)

Scientific evidence presented over the past year demonstrates the strength of SomaLogic's proteomics offerings in the areas of plexity, scalability, and technical reproducibility. In addition, researchers can generate significant and pivotal insights with high sensitivity, high throughput, and thousands of protein markers in a single experiment. This transaction brings SomaLogic's aptamer-based affinity proteomics platform into Illumina's portfolio, enhancing Illumina's presence in a high-growth area within the proteomics market.

"The acquisition of SomaLogic will enhance Illumina's presence in the expanding proteomics market and advance the multiomics strategy we announced in 2024. This will strengthen the value of the NovaSeq X product today and unlock greater capabilities in the future," said Jacob Thaysen, chief executive officer of Illumina. "Illumina and SomaLogic have partnered closely for more than three years, and this combination increases our ability to serve our customers and accelerate our technology roadmap towards advanced biomarker discovery and disease profiling."

"We are taking the scalability of NGS into proteomics," added Thaysen. "Illumina will remain an open, accessible, and enabling NGS platform. The Company is committed to maintaining and supporting its existing proteomics partnerships as well as continuing to develop the sequencing ecosystem and supporting a wide variety of multiomics solutions."

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