Illumina’s Next Steps and the Future of Personalized Medicine

On the morning of the first day of the conference, Illumina CEO Jacob Thaysen, Ph.D., will join Clifton Leaf, former Editor-in-Chief of Fortune magazine, to outline his vision for the future of Illumina and personalized medicine.

Thaysen will discuss the company’s role as an industry leader providing both researchers and clinicians with innovative, accessible, and complete genomics solutions during a pivotal moment in the history of personalized medicine.

For more than 25 years, Illumina’s genomic sequencing products have helped scientists gain a better understanding of the genetic variations that drive many human diseases. The company’s technologies have helped inform the development of genetically based diagnostics and treatments that have, for example, brought sight to genetically blind children, given new hope to people with certain genetically defined cancer types, and helped others avoid late-stage cancers that would have meant almost-certain death. All of this points to a new era of personalized medicine that will help patients live longer, healthier lives.

But continued progress cannot be taken for granted. Shifting economic and political environments have roiled the diagnostics industry in recent years. And many patients are struggling to gain access to the tests and treatments underpinning personalized medicine.

Thus, the stage is set for Thaysen, whose company controls an estimated 80 percent of the genomic sequencing market, to help rally investors, business executives, health system administrators, clinicians, and policymakers around a shared vision for the future of personalized medicine and patient care.