Genomics major lllumina bets on India to power affordable innovation amid global headwinds

US-based genomics giant Illumina is pivoting its strategy toward India to transform the country into an innovation hub as businesses look to counter global headwinds.

The company is also looking to tap into India’s potential as a destination for clinical drugs, including the entry of generic immunotherapy used in cancer treatment, that would require genetic tests.

Facing an import restriction on its DNA sequencing machines in China and reduced research funding in the US, as well as a lower 2025 earnings guidance, Illumina is now accelerating its India strategy to offset global shift in supply chains.

"India is not just a cost center - it’s becoming a core innovation engine for us," Ankur Dhingra, Chief Financial Officer of Illumina told Moneycontrol. The company has rapidly scaled its Global Capability Center (GCC) in Bengaluru from zero to 300 employees in just one year and plans to expand further. The Bengaluru GCC is expanding into bioinformatics and AI-driven genomic analysis. “We see talent here that can contribute globally, especially in panel development and AI applications,” Dhingra said.

A key part of Illumina’s India strategy involves capitalizing on the emergence of generic versions of PD-1 therapies, or a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to block the PD-1 protein on T-cells, which will increase the demand for genomic testing to determine drug suitability.

Illumina is collaborating with local diagnostic firms to develop cost-effective, high-performance panels, which are also being exported to other regions. The company expects PD-1-linked diagnostics to be a significant growth driver in oncology. Dhingra underscored the potential impact and said, "The impact of more accessible checkpoint inhibitors made in India will be massive. It will reshape cancer care and drive genomic testing volumes.”

Affordable Genomic Testing

Illumina is also focused on making genomic testing more accessible, with new platforms like MiSeq i100 allowing Tier 2 and Tier 3 hospitals to perform tests locally. The company’s platforms can now deliver results in seven hours, a crucial factor for timely cancer treatment decisions. The company is also supporting hospitals with flexible business models, including reagent rental and asset-backed Capex support, to expand access.

“We’ve removed the cold chain entirely for MiSeq i100,” Illumina’s CFO said. “That’s a game-changer for smaller hospitals.”

The reagents used in NGS machines typically require ultra-low freezer temperatures of -20°C or -80°C cold storage driving up the logistics and handling costs.

Illumina has slashed sequencing costs by 67% since 2023, bringing whole genome sequencing down to under $200. In India, the actual sequencing cost is now just a fraction of the total diagnostic cost. The company has also invested in a 10,000-genome program to map Indian-specific genetic variations, enabling targeted, lower-cost diagnostics.

India as Global Sequencing Hub

Indian genomic labs including Medgenome, Strand Life Sciences, among others, are already processing samples from across the globe.

“Some of our customers said over 25% of their sequencing revenue comes from international samples,” Dhingra noted. “India’s capability is world-class.”

At a time of rising competition from Chinese firms offering low-cost sequencing, Illumina is investing over 20% of its revenue on R&D. Illumina's total revenue for the fiscal year 2024 was $4.372 billion, with around 60% from clinical, and the rest from research and academia.

The company's headwinds began with China's retaliatory ban on its next-generation sequencing (NGS) machines in March 2025, which eliminated a market worth over $300 million annually. China is yet to lift the ban but allows Illumina to service its existing customers. In response, Illumina initiated a $100 million cost-cutting program and revised its 2025 earnings guidance downwards. Simultaneously, cuts to US research funding have slowed demand from academic institutions and NIH-backed projects.

“The only way to stay ahead is to out-innovate,” Dhingra said. “India will play a big role in accelerating that innovation, especially in AI and bioinformatics.”