Illumina and MGI

Illumina's acquisition of GRAIL is driven by the belief that this test should be available to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Both the FTC and European Commission (EC) filed complaints against Illumina for the acquisition due to concerns of stifling innovation and competition in the Next-generation sequencing (NGS) market. Illumina's gene sequencers powered many of the recent breakthroughs in biology and medicine, but the San Diego-based firm hasn't introduced a multi-cancer early detection test. Complete Genomics is a U.S. subsidiary of MGI, which is an affiliate of BGI Group. It and San Diego-based Illumina are both major providers of sequencing technology. In 2020, Illumina announced plans to buy Grail, which it founded in 2016. Grail was later spun out as a standalone company, but Grail's cancer testing technologies still depend upon Illumina's gene sequencing platforms. Illumina and BGI Group's MGI Tech Co. and Complete Genomics settled a U.S. lawsuit over their DNA sequencing technology. Illumina agreed to pay $325 million to end the suit after jury verdicts in patent cases in California and Delaware. The settlement also resolved a pending antitrust suit brought by BGI affiliates against Illumina in California.