- Illumina is a DNA sequencing company, while Grail is a cancer diagnostic test maker that develops a multi-cancer screening test. Illumina founded Grail in 2015 to create a test that can detect multiple forms of cancer from a single blood sample. Grail's Galleri multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test was first offered commercially in April 2021.
- May 13, 2024: Illumina has communicated its goal to finalize divestment terms for GRAIL by the end of the second quarter of 2024.
In late 2015, Illumina spun off the company Grail, focused on blood testing for cancer tumors in the bloodstream. In 2017 Grail had planned to raise $1 billion in its second round of financing, and received funding from Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos investing $100 million in series A funding, and with Illumina maintaining a 20% holding share in Grail. Grail is working with a blood test trial with over 120,000 women during scheduled mammogram visits in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as a partnership with the Mayo Clinic. Grail uses Illumina sequencing technology for tests. Grail planned to roll out the tests by 2019. In September 2020, Illumina announced a proposed cash and stock deal to acquire Grail for $8 billion.
In November 2018, Illumina proposed the acquisition of Pacific Biosciences for $8.00 per share or around $1.2 billion in total. In December 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to block the acquisition. The proposed deal was abandoned on January 2, 2020, with Illumina paying Pacific a $98 million termination fee.
In March 2021, the FTC sued to block Illumina's $7.1 billion vertical merger with Grail. In July 2021, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the Grail acquisition by Illumina. Against the orders of active investigations by both the US FTC and the EU European Commission, Illumina publicly announced it had completed its acquisition of Grail on August 18, 2021. The FTC urged Illumina to "unwind" the merger shortly after, and in October 2021, the European Commission ordered Illumina to keep Grail a separate company and adopted interim measures to prevent harm to competition, or face penalty payments up to 5% of their average daily turnover and/or fines up to 10% of their annual worldwide turnover under Articles 15 and 14 of the EU Merger Regulation respectively. In September 2022, a US administrative judge ruled against the FTC's efforts to prevent the acquisition on antitrust grounds. In April 2023, the FTC ordered Grail to be divested by Illumina. In July 2023, the European Commission imposed a €432 million ($476 million) penalty on Illumina for closing the Grail acquisition without EU approval.
In September 2022, Illumina launched NovaSeq X and NovaSeq X Plus. The NovaSeq X Plus can sequence 20,000 genomes per year, compared to 7,500 per year of Illumina's previous machines and generate up to 16 Tb of data per run. The series includes redeveloped reagents, dyes, and polymerases which can be shipped at ambient temperature.
In June 2023, deSouza resigned as CEO of Illumina, and was replaced by interim CEO Charles Dadswell, the company's general counsel. Also in June 2023, Hologic CEO Stephen Macmillan was named non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.
In September 2023, Agilent Technologies' senior vice president Jacob Thaysen was appointed CEO.
In October 2023, the European Commission ordered Grail to be divested from Illumina within the next twelve months. Illumina said it would explore a third-party sale or a capital markets transaction if it fails to win its ongoing challenge in court.
In November 2018, Illumina proposed the acquisition of Pacific Biosciences for $8.00 per share or around $1.2 billion in total. In December 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued to block the acquisition. The proposed deal was abandoned on January 2, 2020, with Illumina paying Pacific a $98 million termination fee.
In March 2021, the FTC sued to block Illumina's $7.1 billion vertical merger with Grail. In July 2021, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation into the Grail acquisition by Illumina. Against the orders of active investigations by both the US FTC and the EU European Commission, Illumina publicly announced it had completed its acquisition of Grail on August 18, 2021. The FTC urged Illumina to "unwind" the merger shortly after, and in October 2021, the European Commission ordered Illumina to keep Grail a separate company and adopted interim measures to prevent harm to competition, or face penalty payments up to 5% of their average daily turnover and/or fines up to 10% of their annual worldwide turnover under Articles 15 and 14 of the EU Merger Regulation respectively. In September 2022, a US administrative judge ruled against the FTC's efforts to prevent the acquisition on antitrust grounds. In April 2023, the FTC ordered Grail to be divested by Illumina. In July 2023, the European Commission imposed a €432 million ($476 million) penalty on Illumina for closing the Grail acquisition without EU approval.
In September 2022, Illumina launched NovaSeq X and NovaSeq X Plus. The NovaSeq X Plus can sequence 20,000 genomes per year, compared to 7,500 per year of Illumina's previous machines and generate up to 16 Tb of data per run. The series includes redeveloped reagents, dyes, and polymerases which can be shipped at ambient temperature.
In June 2023, deSouza resigned as CEO of Illumina, and was replaced by interim CEO Charles Dadswell, the company's general counsel. Also in June 2023, Hologic CEO Stephen Macmillan was named non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.
In September 2023, Agilent Technologies' senior vice president Jacob Thaysen was appointed CEO.
In October 2023, the European Commission ordered Grail to be divested from Illumina within the next twelve months. Illumina said it would explore a third-party sale or a capital markets transaction if it fails to win its ongoing challenge in court.
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