Illumina's Shane Bowen top keynote at MicroNano Conference

The Apple of biotech sends research boss to Amsterdam “I like coming to Amsterdam. I actually wanted to come to the conference last year, but now that I have been asked to be a keynote speaker, that is absolutely wonderful.” The organization of the International MicroNano Conference next December in Amsterdam has really won a winner in Shane Bowen. You could call his company Illumina the Apple of biotechnology. Founded in 1998 in Silicon Valley, its turnover has doubled to two billion dollars per year in the last six years and was named 'the world's smartest company' by MIT in 2014. What they do? Constantly developing new and cheaper equipment to read DNA at a very rapid pace. In August last year, the magazine De Ingenieur wrote about an 'app store for your DNA' in connection with Illumina. It is the breakthrough in preventive diagnostics based on gene information. “We make the tools for DNA. I manage it within the company nanofabrication department. That part of the company fulfills the bridging function from research to product development. What we do is derisking technology. This means a two-way feedback loop, with a direct impact on turnover. To do this well, we have to continuously scan and scout what's in store for the future, what trends are maturing? A conference like the one you organize is a perfect opportunity for that. That affects my two-sided responsibility. I look for opportunities for new partnerships and I am constantly looking for future people for my team. So it involves a lot of networking and for me a conference like this in Amsterdam is just fun. Yes, I certainly meet people I know there, because we already do business with various companies that are affiliated with MinacNed.” Where does Illumina currently mainly realize its turnover? “At academia, both within universities and at companies, especially those that conduct fundamental research. But in recent years there has been a transition towards diagnostic platforms and even direction treatment. We are moving from the research environment to the diagnostics arena, from genotyping Unpleasant health issues. It's fascinating to experience. Based on my own data and that of my wife, we know a lot about our children before they are born. That is also the largest market, that of prenatal tests. This is now much less unfriendly because blood samples are no longer required thanks to our technology.” Bowen cites the recent acquisition of an Illumina customer as an illustration of this development. The announcement of the establishment of Grail Company, a new spin-out in which Bill Gates, among others, invests, also fits in with the strategy. That company focuses on early cancer detection. Organ-on-a-Chip is now hot in the Netherlands. Is Illumina also active in this? “We do single cell sequencing, but not with organ cells. I know that a lot is happening in this area in the Netherlands, but it is still happening early stage research, purely academic, at universities. We always want to get from academia to the market as quickly as possible. That is why we also do business with small and medium-sized companies. They have the advantage of rapid response time. We move very quickly. We already take the step towards cost reduction and quality control before a product enters the market. That phase is difficult for small companies. Even bigger ones foundries have difficulty with that. The challenge is to keep the product price low. If a product explodes in the market, we ensure that we have a majority share in the company that supplies the technology we work with. That is extremely risky.” Does Shane Bowen have a message for the Netherlands? “Yes, certainly, you must realize that it is very interesting timing for this MicroNano Conference. We experience one sensitive time. Applications in the Life Sciences require different preconditions than the semiconductor market. We can afford defects on one silicon wafer. And I see one next generation nanofabrication which comes from new materials, molecularly determined self-assembly.” “Now that we are speaking to each other like this, you should know that I am celebrating my birthday during the conference in Amsterdam.” Really? On December 13 or 14? “The fourteenth” We drink a beer to that. www.micronanoconference.org   See also: Report 3, 2016