ILMN -Biotech firm Illumina will sequence your entire genetic code -- and throw in a Mac - for $48,000.- Sourced WhisperFromWallStreet.com

Illumina Inc.ILMN Price competition is coming to the rarified world of genome sequencing.
For $48,000, San Diego-based Illumina (ILMN) will sequence your genome -- in other words, your entire genetic code. Until now, the only other company offering personal genome sequencing services is biotech startup Knome. It charges $99,500.

Genome sequencing can alert individuals if they have inherited genes that cause illnesses like diabetes, Alzheimer's or cancer. Using the information as a guide, people could alter their lifestyles in an attempt to dodge potentially latent diseases. They also could find out the probability of passing along a genetic disease like cystic fibrosis to their children, or uncover interesting details about their ancestry.

Illumina is tossing in an iMac computer loaded with a customer's genetic data to round out the deal. But spending nearly $50K on a genetic code will not fit most people's budgets, even though that pricetag is hundreds of millions of dollars cheaper than sequencing the first human genome in 2003. Illumina says it expects just tens, perhaps hundreds, of people to sign up for the service within the next year.

About
Illumina, Inc. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological function. Its instrumentation products include Genome Analyzer II, an instrument for high-throughput sequencing using Illumina sequencing by synthesis technology; iScan System, a high-resolution imaging instrument to scan BeadArray based assays; and BeadXpress Reader, a low- to mid-multiplex, high-throughput instrument for readout of assays. The company?s consumables comprise Standard Sequencing Kit, a reagent used for sequencing by synthesis chemistry on the Genome Analyzer; Paired-End Genomic DNA Sample Prep Kit, a streamlined library preparation kit to generate 200?500 kb insert paired-end reads; InfiniumHD Whole-Genome BeadChips comprising Human1M-Duo, Human610-Quad, Human660W-Quad, and HumanCytoSNP-12, which are multi-sample DNA analysis microarrays that interrogate up to 1.2 million markers per sample; iSelect Custom Genotyping BeadChips that are customer designable SNP genotyping arrays for 6,000 to 200,000 markers; and Whole-Genome Gene Expression BeadChips, which are multi-sample expression profiling arrays with up-to-date content for human, mouse, and rat. Illumina was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.