Illumina launches new kits for targeted resequencing studies

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) today introduced Nextera Exome and Custom Enrichment kits, the Company's latest targeted resequencing solutions offering sample preparation and enrichment in a single, integrated workflow. Leveraging the speed of Nextera technology and supporting the industry's lowest DNA sample input requirements (50 ng), the new kits enable researchers to quickly and economically perform a wide range of studies - from small, focused gene panels to full human exomes.    

Upfront sample preparation is an often difficult and time-consuming task for targeted resequencing studies. Nextera Exome and Custom Enrichment kits replace the lengthy sample preparation protocols with a single, streamlined workflow that can be performed in less than three hours and removes the requirement for mechanical DNA fragmentation. The kits integrate the ease of Nextera sample preparation with the company's established TruSeq® Exome and Custom Enrichment solutions for a fast, scalable and highly efficient approach to targeted resequencing. Offering excellent data quality with a low DNA sample input requirement, the kits enable researchers to study small samples, while retaining sufficient material for future analysis.

"Nextera Enrichment kits deliver superior performance on all fronts with a simple, rapid workflow that eliminates almost an entire day of preparation time," said Christian Henry, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Genomic Solutions. "Developed, tested, and optimized for Illumina sequencing platforms, Nextera Enrichment kits make targeted resequencing more broadly available to researchers who are interested in performing studies on DNA samples that may only be available in limited quantities."

"The combination of Nextera library prep and TruSeq capture produces a simple workflow and high quality data. It will allow us to process large numbers of samples without investing in automation systems and opens up capture-based sequencing to samples that would not have been accessible due to DNA input constraints," said Dr. James Hadfield, Head of Genomics, Cancer Research, UK. "We have been able to perform custom and exome capture as well as low coverage genome sequencing from the same 50 ng input DNA."

Nextera Exome Enrichment kits offer:

• Comprehensive coverage of the human exome, with greater than 62 Mb of both coding regions and untranslated regions (UTRs).
• Excellent data quality with high enrichment rates and premier coverage uniformity.
• The ability to fully customize content with Illumina's DesignStudio, a free online tool for Illumina customers.
• Industry-best DNA input of 50 ng.
• A unique 12-plex pre-enrichment sample pooling, reducing hands-on time and enabling the most cost-effective and operationally efficient workflow.