Lendlease, the newest Milano&Partners member, an international group of real estate, infrastructure, and urban regeneration, and Illumina, a global leader in genomic sequencing, announce the agreement that will lead the Nasdaq-listed company based in San Diego, to open its first and only Italian office in MIND, on an area of about 1000 mq.

The arrival of Illumina in MIND is the result of the teamwork of the entire innovation ecosystem.

Thanks to the collaboration with Arexpo and the anchors of the MIND project, Human Technopole, the Statale University and the Galeazzi Hospital, as well as the institutional support of the Lombardy Region, the Municipality of Milan and Milano&Partners and the strategic support of PlusValue, Illumina has decided to invest in the MIND project and to be fully part of it.

The giant of genomic sequencing will strengthen its presence in the country, on a consolidated network of relationships with hospital and university institutions where it supports and participates in studies on genomic sequencing for the early diagnosis of cancers and rare diseases.

With around 17,000 genomic sequencing instruments installed in clinics and laboratories of over 7,300 customers across 140 countries worldwide, Illumina is unlocking the power of the genome to improve human health.

The company invests over 600 million $US annually in research and development to make its technology cost-effective, more accurate and faster. Illumina invests in the Lombard capital to contribute to research and collaborations with regional and national institutions and strengthen the network of collaboration with companies operating in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.

"We are proud to welcome Illumina to MIND - said Andrea Ruckstul Director EMEA of Lendlease - a prestigious partner who will make an essential contribution to the acceleration of diagnostic research of diseases and the development of new therapies. All the MIND partners, from Arexpo to Human Technopole, as well as the Lombardy Region and the Municipality of Milan, have supported us in the creation of this partnership, which will give great added value to the project. Illumina is in fact an international leader who at Mind perfectly interprets our vision of an innovation ecosystem ".

"We are excited about this partnership which will lead to the creation of an Illumina Solution Centre in Milan at MIND,” said Paula Dowdy, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Illumina for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. “The new Solution Centre will strengthen our relationships with hospitals, clinics, universities and companies across Italy and enable us to work even more closely together to improve patient access to innovative diagnostics, advancing precision medicine across the country and further positioning MIND as a leading healthcare innovator within Europe. We have exciting times ahead.”