Illumina and Element Biosciences have separately signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Latvia’s newly consolidated National Institute of Research and Innovation (NIRI).
The Illumina MOU, also signed by representatives of the University of Latvia, Riga Stradiņš University, Riga East University Hospital, Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital and Children’s Clinical University Hospital, establishes a “framework for bringing modern genomics closer to patients in Latvia,” NIRI said in a statement. “This includes strengthening Latvia’s genomic data and biobanking infrastructure, developing local sequencing and bioinformatics expertise, and fostering closer links between researchers, industry, and healthcare.”
Similarly, the Element MOU addresses cooperation and collaboration in genomics, bioinformatics, and clinical research.
“The next era of precision health will be led by nations with the vision to connect biology, data, technology, and healthcare — and to build the pathways that turn scientific insight into better health for their citizens,” Illumina CEO Jacob Thaysen said in a Sept. 29 LinkedIn post about the MOU. “Together, we aim to advance genomics research, accelerate precision medicine, and improve outcomes for patients.”
The MOUs were part of a Latvian government trade mission to California, led by President Edgars Rinkēvičs. Generally, MOUs are non-binding agreements that signal intent to cooperate.
The agreements help establish credibility for the NIRI, formally created earlier this year from the merger of the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis and the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre. NIRI controls the Genome Database of the Latvian Population and the national Genome Centre, as well as a network of university hospitals and researchers.
Latvia, one of the small Baltic states formed after the dissolution of the USSR, may also be seeking to establish its own identity in the world of genomics. Its neighbor to the north, Estonia, has already created a national biobank and population sequencing program linked to digital health records. Looking south, Lithuania’s Vilnius University has yielded important work on molecular technologies including CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and single-cell analysis via spinout Atrandi Biosciences.
NIRI’s heritage includes drug discovery, potentially offering a differentiated way to capitalize on its national genome program. In the October 2025 announcement of its formation NIRI said it would pursue advances in “molecular medicine, biotechnology, and structural biology” leading to “development of novel medical solutions, and the commercialization of research results.”
For companies like Illumina and Element, NIRI projects itself as a potential strategic partner in its domestic industry and an additional entrypoint into the European market.
Illumina’s MOU builds on existing relationships with Latvian institutions and “Latvia’s growing capabilities and national ambitions in genomics and precision medicine,” an Illumina spokesperson said in an email. The company declined to disclose additional details about the MOU.
Element noted that NIRI already has one of its Aviti systems, but declined to offer additional details of the MOU.
Ion Genomics News
Adding to the global focus of this week’s newsletter, my latest podcast was an interview with BridgeCross Bio’s Matt Marlowe on China’s burgeoning biotech industry, including sequencing technology companies.
We produced a few short videos for social media such as this one about the competitive landscape there, which Matt also posted to LinkedIn.
Let me know what you think of it and if you’d like to see more pulled from future (or past) episodes.
Other Genomics News
Anthropic has claimed that its Claude AI program has discovered “a novel enzyme system that is associated with an array of DNA repeats, a pattern reminiscent of CRISPR.”
However, Denmark-based researcher Mario Rodriguez Mestre told Carl Zimmer of The New York Times (paywall) that he had identified the same system and used Claude as part of his research, which has remained unpublished. The story is reminiscent of another AI-powered “discovery,” where mathematician Tristan Buckmaster alleged that OpenAI cribbed his ideas about how to solve a famous math problem.
As part of the enzyme discovery announcement, Anthropic revealed that it operates a wet lab in the Bay Area to validate some of Claude’s biological predictions.
Grail’s Galleri Wins FDA Advisory Panel Backing, but Effectiveness Vote Splits 6-4
Grail’s Galleri multi-cancer test passed all three votes before an FDA advisory committee, but the panel was most divided on the question of effectiveness.
Raw Reads: FDA Advisory Panelists Explain their Votes on Grail’s Galleri
Raw Reads is a series of refined, comprehensive transcripts of conversations on topics covered by Ion Genomics.
Novo Nordisk Foundation Commits $53M to Expand Broad Institute-Based Genomics Center
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has committed $53 million to renew and expand its Center for Genomic Mechanisms of Disease at the Broad Institute.
10x Genomics Launches Sentira, Soon to Be Its First Paid Software Platform
10x Genomics is expanding into paid data analysis software, a major change for a company that has historically included access to its software products along with its assays.
Abbott Launches Freenome's SimpleScreen Colorectal Cancer Test in the US
Abbott has launched SimpleScreen CRC, an FDA-approved blood-based colorectal cancer screening test in the US.
Sweden’s Haga Bioscience Partners With NYU Spinout Imagenomix on Spatial Cancer Biomarker Detection
Swedish spatial biology startup Haga Bioscience and Imagenomix are collaborating on new approaches to biomarker discovery and validation.
Imagenomix is a spinout of New York University and boasts cancer researcher and pathologist Matija Snuderl as one of its cofounders.
Caris Life Sciences announced Sept. 29 an enhanced version of its Caris Assure liquid biopsy test. It integrates whole-exome and whole-transcriptome sequencing with whole-blood analysis. The test includes validation that tumor fraction correlates with risk of progression and treatment efficacy in patients who receive repeated testing, as well as validated Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) reporting, expanded pharmacogenomic reporting, and an enhanced clinical report.
Senticell has won a $400,000 Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I grant from the National Cancer Institute to fund research into a red blood-cell-bound tumor DNA liquid biopsy test for early detection of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC.)
“Our preliminary work suggests red blood cells may retain tumor DNA longer and in greater abundance than plasma,” Senticell Cofounder Nilam Mangalmurti, also a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, said in a statement. “This grant lets us rigorously test that biology, first in animal models and then in a cohort of 100 early-stage NSCLC patients, to determine whether it can become a reliable diagnostic tool.”
EpiSign has launched EpiSign Metric 5-base, methylation analysis software that will expand the company’s capabilities beyond microarrays to sequencing-based DNA methylation assays.
The software can analyze methylation information generated using Illumina 5-base, Pacific Bioscience’s HiFi sequencing, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ sequencing through the same classification framework used for array-based analysis. The software provides automated analysis across more than 300 episignature disorders.
My Omics Reading List/Elsewhere on Substack
On his Substack Ground Truths, Eric Topol of Scripps Research dives into two papers that propose a new model of aging: rather than simply accumulating damage, cells may also lose their identities as specific cell types, through erosion of epigenetic programs dictating that identity.
One of the papers, a review titled “Written in development and lost in ageing: the grammar of cellular identity” was published Sept. 30 in Nature.