Illumina, Helix to Assess, Survey US Prevalence of New SARS-CoV-2 UK Variant (B.1.1.7)

 Illumina, Inc. (Nasdaq: ILMN) and Helix today announced a collaboration to augment national surveillance infrastructure in the US to track the emergence and prevalence of novel strains of SARS-CoV-2 with support from the CDC. The combination of Illumina’s sequencing technology and expertise and Helix’s national COVID-19 testing footprint will significantly expand the country’s existing surveillance efforts to detect and characterize emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2.

The collaboration has already demonstrated results – identifying 51 of the first 54 cases of B.1.1.7, the highly transmissible variant first found in the UK, reported in the US. Over the past several weeks, Helix has analyzed recent positive samples and identified those with ‘S gene dropout’ on their diagnostic PCR assay, indicating the potential presence of the emerging B1.1.7 variant in different regions in the US. Illumina then sequenced a subset of these ‘S gene dropout’ samples using Illumina’s COVIDSeq Test, which identified the B.1.1.7 variant in 4 samples from California and Florida.

“Genomic surveillance is essential in fighting the pandemic. Illumina is pleased to partner with the CDC and Helix to provide accurate sequencing that can contribute to rapidly scaling genomic surveillance in the US to better understand the presence of B.1.1.7 and other variants as they emerge in our communities,” said Dr. Phil Febbo, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Illumina.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210105006007/en/Illumina-and-Helix-Collaborate-to-Assess-Prevalence-of-New-SARS-CoV-2-UK-Variant-B.1.1.7-in-the-US-and-Develop-National-Surveillance-Infrastructure