'Despite global funding slowdowns, India's early-stage healthcare scene, especially in digital health and diagnostics, remains strong'

US-based Illumina Inc., a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, established its presence in India nearly 20 years ago, laying the foundation for a strong role in the country's genomics ecosystem. At present, Illumina is driving early cancer detection in India by advancing comprehensive genomic profiling and enabling liquid biopsy technologies. With new expansion plans in place, Illumina is all set to further strengthen India's genomics landscape. In an exclusive interaction with BioSpectrum India, Suchita Dayanand, Country Head – India (Commercial), Illumina shares her plans. Edited excerpts;

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What are the key strategies lined up for Illumina in 2026, for India? How much revenue growth is expected for FY 25-26?

We are making steady progress on our strategy to drive customer-centric innovation, operational excellence, and revenue growth. Our transformation remains focused on customers and execution excellence to drive the company forward. To further boost inclusive innovation, we are now expanding beyond metros - bringing training, partnerships, and technology to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, empowering local healthcare providers and improving access to genomic solutions. In India, we see strong momentum in digital health and diagnostics, with growing demand for clinical Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) in urban centres. We will continue partnering with leading labs to advance clinical genomics in the country. Globally, our Q3 2025 results exceeded the high end of guidance for revenue and earnings, driven by clinical segment growth. During the quarter, we have returned to growth ex-China and are executing strongly against our long-range strategic and financial goals.

Are you planning to launch new products/ technologies in 2026 for the Indian market?

Globally, we led the initial genomics revolution. Now, we are convening the industry at its newest frontier in multiomics to help researchers rapidly decode biology and help clinicians translate data insights into personalised healthcare decisions that can improve lives and outcomes. We are the only company bringing insights together in AI-powered, complete, and integrated workflow solutions to deliver integrated insights across the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome and other-omics.

Some key announcements we made globally in the last quarter include:

• Launching 5-base solution, enabling simultaneous genomic and epigenomic insights