NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Helix announced today that it has partnered with Illumina Accelerator to provide support to new companies developing DNA-based products for the consumer market.
Illumina launched its accelerator program in 2014 to assist startups and early-stage companies working on next-generation sequencing applications. Over six-month cycles, it provides participants with funding, instrumentation, technological expertise, and lab space, among other things.
Through the partnership, Helix will now offer resources to certain Illumina Accelerator startups that are working on consumer-focused DNA products. These resources include expertise in next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics, applied genomics, software and product development, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, consumer marketing, and business development.
"By working with Helix during our seventh funding cycle, select startups will have unparalleled access to Helix's commercial market expertise and sequencing platform for their consumer applications," Mostafa Ronaghi, Illumina's chief technology officer and accelerator program cofounder, said in a statement.
"Through our collaboration with Illumina Accelerator, we hope to provide breakthrough startups with the resources, infrastructure, and support to transform their ideas into compelling consumer applications and services that make genomics relevant and accessible to every person based on their unique interests," Helix CEO Robin Thurston added in the statement.
Last month, Helix launched an online marketplace of consumer genomics applications including ones for fitness, ancestry, and disease risk. The app store includes products developed by a variety of different companies.