Illumina (San Diego) launched the Illumina Accelerator Program, touted as the first-ever genomics-focused business accelerator back in mid-February. The company says its goal is to speed the time to market and lower the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and early-stage companies working on “scientifically and commercially promising” next-generation sequencing applications. While the fact that the accelerator is committed entirely to genomics is a new twist, housing early-stage companies in accelerators and incubators is part of a rapidly proliferating trend in the life sciences. Driven by the lack of investment capital for early-stage life science companies, the desire to stimulate local economies through entrepreneurship, and the need of larger firms to scale-back internal research and development (R&D) while eyeing strategic expansion opportunities, the incubator industry has scaled up significantly since the economic downturn in 2008. “When you look at the number of academic ideas out there and the size of investment available through venture capitalists, there is a big gap,” Mostafa Ronaghi, Ph.D., Illumina’s chief technology officer, told Bloomberg. “This is especially true in genomics, where it’s more difficult for companies to get started.” Illumina’s accelerator is relatively unique with its exclusive focus on genomics and its corporate backing, but […]