Illumina has agreed to acquire SomaLogic, a proteomics technology company, for $350m in cash, with potential additional payments of up to $75m based on milestones and royalties.
The US-based biotech company signed the agreement with Standard BioTools, which acquired SomaLogic in January last year.
The acquisition aims to enhance Illumina’s multiomics strategy by integrating SomaLogic’s proteomics capabilities with Illumina’s next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms.
It builds on a co-development agreement between Illumina and SomaLogic signed in 2021 to integrate the SomaScan Proteomics Assay onto Illumina’s high-throughput NGS platforms.
Illumina plans to fully launch its Protein Prep solution, which is currently used by nearly 40 early-access customers, by the third quarter of this year.
The combination of SomaLogic’s technology with Illumina’s scalable NGS ecosystem and DRAGEN software would advance proteomics development and reduce research costs.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearance.
Until closing, Illumina and SomaLogic will continue to operate independently, and plan to file under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act in the US.
Illumina CEO Jacob Thaysen said: “The acquisition of SomaLogic will enhance Illumina’s presence in the expanding proteomics market and advance the multiomics strategy we announced in 2024.
“This will strengthen the value of the NovaSeq X product today and unlock greater capabilities in the future.
“Illumina and SomaLogic have partnered closely for more than three years, and this combination increases our ability to serve our customers and accelerate our technology roadmap towards advanced biomarker discovery and disease profiling.
“We are taking the scalability of NGS into proteomics. Illumina will remain an open, accessible, and enabling NGS platform.”
SomaLogic employs around 250 people worldwide across various roles, and its global presence serves a wide range of customers.
The acquisition includes SomaLogic’s facilities in Boulder, Colorado, which feature a CLIA- and CAP-certified lab, office, and manufacturing space.
It will bring SomaLogic’s aptamer-based affinity proteomics platform into Illumina’s portfolio, enhancing its presence in the rapidly growing proteomics market.
The addition of a kitted NGS-based panels business would provide a high-margin consumables revenue stream.
Goldman Sachs & Co. served as financial advisor, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore as legal counsel to Illumina, on this transaction.
Centerview Partners served as advisor, Freshfields and Richards, Layton & Finger as legal counsel to Standard BioTools, with UBS Investment Bank as advisor to the Special Committee of the Standard BioTools Board of Directors.
