Inno-Gene buys stake in CEGC

Poznań-based biotechnology company Inno-Gene has signed a deal to purchase a 36.5 percent stake in Central Europe Genomics Center (CEGC), a company which in Poland has exclusive rights to whole genome sequencing. The genome sequencing technology is owned by NASDAQ-listed Illumina with annual revenues of PLN 7.2 billion. "Thanks to the investment, not only will we obtain a foothold in the regional genetic research market, but we will also gain an opportunity to cooperate with a giant such as Illumina. The cooperation will have a broad scope - we will get access to a worldwide network of laboratories and the opportunity to establish relationships with American scientists, which - as we hope - will bear fruit in the future," said Jacek Wojciechowicz, the CEO and the main shareholder of Inno-Gene. The set-up of a biobank is also planned under the Polish-American cooperation.