San Diego-based Illumina recently announced its acquisition of Dutch cloud-based software company BlueBee. The BlueBee secure platform enables users to compile, search, and collaborate on data directly through the cloud, where they can be configured and analyzed quickly.
With BlueBee, Illumina will have a new edge on its genomic analysis capabilities, providing an even better service to its pharma and clinical clients. Researchers and clinicians will be able to manage large quantities of genomics data in a much more streamlined, simplified way. Illumina expects the platform’s efficiency to decrease the costs of storing and maintaining the massive volumes of data surrounding their 15,000+ sequencing systems.
Tools within the BlueBee platform include BlueFlow, for intuitive management of analysis; BlueBase, a multi-modal data management system; and BlueBench, an AI tool. “Combining BlueBee and Illumina software products provides the most scalable, efficient and extensible genomic analysis solutions for both clinical and translational research use cases. BlueBee truly brings unique capabilities, while ensuring secure deployment of clinical informatics across the globe, and together we hope to deliver an unprecedented learning environment in order to unlock the full potential of genomic insights,” said Susan Tousi, Illumina’s Senior Vice President of Product Development.
Illumina’s current cloud assets include BaseSpace Sequencing Hub, which uses a variety of next-generation data analysis apps for sequencing and data sharing, and DRAGEN Bio-IT Platform, for data processing. The combination of these HIPAA- and ISO-compliant cloud solutions in addition to BlueBee gives Illumina an all-encompassing cloud portfolio that can support the most advanced needs of their translational and clinical customers.
BlueBee hails from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), where it was founded in 2011 with collaborators from Imperial College London. In addition to Rijswijk, The Netherlands, BlueBee has two other offices in Mechelen, Belgium and San Mateo, California. The bioinformatics company’s current investors include Buysse & Partners, Delft Enterprises, Korys, Heran Partners, Quest for Growth, Maatschappij Vlaanderen, and Capricorn Partners. Illumina is a global DNA sequencing leader that has been analyzing genetic data and unlocking the human genome for biopharma and biotech companies and academic institutions since 1998. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
