“Despite global funding slowdowns, India’s early-stage healthcare scene, especially in digital health and diagnostics, remains strong”

What are the key strategies lined up for Illumina in 2026, for India? How much revenue growth is expected for FY 25-26?

We are making steady progress on our strategy to drive customer-centric innovation, operational excellence, and revenue growth. Our transformation remains focused on customers and execution excellence to drive the company forward.

To further boost inclusive innovation, we are now expanding beyond metros - bringing training, partnerships, and technology to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, empowering local healthcare providers and improving access to genomic solutions.

In India, we see strong momentum in digital health and diagnostics, with growing demand for clinical Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) in urban centres. We will continue partnering with leading labs to advance clinical genomics in the country. 

Globally, our Q3 2025 results exceeded the high end of guidance for revenue and earnings, driven by clinical segment growth. During the quarter, we have returned to growth ex-China and are executing strongly against our long-range strategic and financial goals.

Are you planning to launch new products/ technologies in 2026 for the Indian market? 

Globally, we led the initial genomics revolution. Now, we are convening the industry at its newest frontier in multiomics to help researchers rapidly decode biology and help clinicians translate data insights into personalised healthcare decisions that can improve lives and outcomes. We are the only company bringing insights together in AI-powered, complete, and integrated workflow solutions to deliver integrated insights across the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome and other-omics. 

Some key announcements we made globally in the last quarter include: 

• Launching 5-base solution, enabling simultaneous genomic and epigenomic insights
• Introduced Constellation mapped read technology, uncovering hard-to-see genomic variants in GeneDx pilot
• Launched BioInsight, a new business to accelerate technology and data-driven discovery initiatives
• Expanded personalised cancer care efforts through new pharmaceutical development partnerships enabled on the TruSight Oncology (TSO) Comprehensive genomic profiling test
• Welcomed Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to the Alliance for Genomic Discovery (AGD), broadening the consortium’s diverse clinical genomic dataset and utilizing it to inform development of 'gene silencing' medicines
• Introduced Illumina Protein Prep, driving deeper proteomic insights to enhance drug discovery and development, with a streamlined sample-to-insights solution for discovery and clinical research

These initiatives and technologies represent a leap forward in genome discovery, and we are excited to accelerate their impact by expanding access to more labs around the world - including across India.

How is Illumina supporting genomics startups in India through funding and technology?

Illumina is nurturing India’s genomics startup ecosystem through the Illumina Accelerator, driving locally relevant innovation in cancer, rare diseases, and infectious diseases like TB. Our mission is to accelerate breakthrough solutions for India’s unique healthcare challenges through strategic partnerships and investments.

Despite global funding slowdowns, India’s early-stage healthcare scene, especially in digital health and diagnostics, remains strong. Through the Accelerator, we support startups like 4BaseCare and AarogyaAI with mentorship, technology access, and global expertise to help them scale and transform healthcare delivery, entrepreneurial growth, and locally relevant innovations in healthcare and life sciences.

How is Illumina contributing to the growth of the Indian life sciences GCC sector?

Our Global Capability Center in Bengaluru supports global operations by delivering critical IT, engineering, and data science capabilities that drive digital innovation and operational excellence.

Bengaluru offers a unique advantage for Illumina with its robust biotech infrastructure, skilled talent pool, and supportive policies, making it an ideal hub for genomic discovery and innovation.

The co-location of digital, operational, and data science teams enhances efficiency and accelerates the adoption of automation and new technologies. Its proximity to Singapore’s R&D and Asia-Pacific partners further strengthens this strategic position.  Our investment in Illumina Solutions Center and a technology-driven GCC reflects the evolution of GCCs from traditional support centers to specialised, innovation-led hubs. 

Globally, liquid biopsy and ctDNA-based assays are generating buzz as the next frontier in cancer early detection. How is Illumina leveraging this opportunity for India?

We are working with partners across the country to integrate liquid biopsy-based solutions into clinical workflows. Products like TruSight Oncology 500, our flagship cancer research assay, enable labs to deliver comprehensive molecular profiles. Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) is a critical tool to accelerate access to precision medicine by providing a molecular tumor profile to labs advancing research in therapy selection and clinical trial eligibility.  

By enabling multi-cancer early detection (MCED) through liquid biopsy, we aim to save more lives - because every early diagnosis creates a ripple effect of hope for patients and families.

How can Multi-Cancer Early Detection transform cancer outcomes in India? What are the challenges associated with it?

In India, non-communicable diseases account for two thirds of deaths, which include diseases such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases and cancer. Particularly for cancer, India saw 1.56 million new cancer cases and over 870,000 deaths in 2024. This signals the urgency for better precision medicine solutions. 

At Illumina, we helped accelerate the field of precision oncology with comprehensive genomic profiling. In 2018, we introduced a pan-cancer assay designed to identify known and emerging tumour biomarkers. The next generation of TruSight Oncology 500, enables comprehensive genomic profiling. Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) is a critical tool to accelerate access to precision medicine by providing a molecular tumour profile to labs advancing research in therapy selection and clinical trial eligibility.  

Also, our ability to detect cell-free circulating tumour DNA from tumours is growing. Clinical researchers see it as a potential alternative to invasive tissue biopsies, and the breakthrough technology can also help with MCED. With the help of MCED, catching cancer before it spreads increases the overall cancer survival rate by 400 per cent.

However, challenges such as the high upfront cost of testing, limited awareness, and lack of clinical infrastructure persist. Illumina is addressing these barriers through partnerships, clinician education, and scalable, cost-efficient sequencing technology. Our commitment is to make MCED accessible, especially in underserved Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions.

Any potential collaboration with the government to help reduce the growing burden of diseases such as cancer, rare diseases, TB etc.?

We are committed to broadening access to genomics by collaborating with public and private partners to lower barriers to sequencing, while also enhancing awareness and clinical engagement. We have been actively developing a wide range of public–private partnerships and initiatives in India, particularly in the areas of infectious disease research (COVID-19, TB) and genomics capacity building. Collaborations with public health institutions (Kasturba Hospital, CSIR-IGIB, PD Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre), philanthropic funding efforts, national initiatives (such as Genome India), and infrastructure investments (including the Solutions Center and Global Capability Center) reflect our strategic and sustained commitment to collaboration.

Dr Manbeena Chawla

(manbeena.chawla@mmactiv.com)