Thermo Fisher Scientific and Illumina, Inc. announced they have signed a commercial agreement that enables Illumina to sell Ion AmpliSeq technology to researchers who conduct scientific studies on Illumina's next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms. The best-in-class amplicon technology is highly effective in capturing DNA and RNA from minute amounts of samples for application in multiple areas of research. Under the agreement, Thermo Fisher will provide Illumina with Ion AmpliSeq technology for research use. Illumina will sell the product directly to its customers under the name AmpliSeq for Illumina.

Thermo Fisher will continue to sell Ion AmpliSeq chemistry for both IVD and RUO applications to Ion Torrent NGS customers, and retains the right to make the technology available on other next-generation sequencing platforms. The agreement enables Illumina customers to utilize targeted resequencing as a follow-up to larger-scale exome and whole genome discovery studies. Ultimately, the agreement supports both organizations' commitment to drive scientific advancement in human disease research by providing complete NGS workflow solutions.