Illumina to be forced to discard $8bn unit, says report
Illumina may be forced to offload its cancer treatment unit—valued at $8 billion—by the European Commission (EC), according to sources cited by the Financial Times.
If correct, the forecast move will come more than two years after Illumina completed its buy-out of cancer screening company Grail in the face of anti-competitive concerns from the EC and opposition from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
In April 2021, Illumina filed a lawsuit against the EC, arguing that the planned investigation into any alleged anti-competitive behaviour would constrain the emergence of the development of pivotal medical technology. It added that it would hold Grail as a separate entity while the deal was being closed.
In August 2021—when Illumina finalised its acquisition of Grail—the world’s largest gene sequencing sequence company defended its action by saying that “it would accelerate the access and adoption” of a life-saving test worldwide.
Francis deSouza, then CEO of Illumina, argued that the decision to move forward with the deal was made on moral grounds.
“We felt a moral obligation even to make sure this deal does get through the regulatory process and we feel that by acquiring the company and keeping it separate, we achieve both aims,” he said at the time.
DeSouza later stepped down from his role in June this year, and a month later, the EC fined Illumina €432 million ($456 million) for pushing the deal through.
The Financial Times has said that three people “with direct knowledge of the matter” have confirmed that the EU plans to punish Illumina further for closing the controversial deal, without its express permission. The order to discard the unit could come within a matter of weeks, according to the sources.
This development comes after the FTC ordered the sale of Grail in April, on the basis that it would derail other companies’ efforts to combat cancer.
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