Illumina has begun rolling out a series of updates to its top-of-the-line DNA sequencer models, with the goal of making the high-throughput machines more attractive to smaller laboratories.
For its NovaSeq X series—which, when fully stocked, can analyze more than 20,000 whole human genomes per year—the company said it began shipping a single-flow cell system last month, to offer a more accessible price point for labs that don’t process quite as many samples.
“This is the same instrument the scientific community has come to rely on for next-generation sequencing, now with upgraded software, new kits, and the option for a lower volume,” Illumina’s chief technology officer, Steve Barnard, said in a statement.
At the same time, the company said it began delivering new 25B 100-cycle and 200-cycle kits for the NovaSeq X and NovaSeq X Plus machines—aimed both at servicing multiomic applications and providing flexibility in run sizes and cycle counts for the various needs of clinical and academic labs, among others.
“Based on customer input, we've invested heavily in innovations to make the platform even stronger and more versatile, supporting total workflows with flexible applications spanning genomics and multiomics,” Barnard added.
In addition, Illumina announced the rebranded commercial debut of its recently acquired single-cell prep system—born out of its purchase of Fluent BioSciences last July, for $85 million in cash upfront plus additional milestone payments.
Previously known as Fluent’s PIPseq V, the supplies will be compatible with several Illumina machines, including its NextSeq 1000/2000 and NovaSeq 6000, as well as with the NovaSeq X and its new 25B kits.
Fluent, with its tech developed out of the University of California, San Francisco, was previously backed by Illumina’s independent venture capital arm. Its single-cell RNA and nuclei isolation supplies aim to sort out and label complex cell mixtures—ranging from 100 cells up to 1 million—without needing additional microfluidic consumables before undergoing sequencing.