The race to getting a full and affordable entire gene sequence just became a little more competitive. As I have posted before, Intel sees promise here as an investor and you can view the list of current customers below, some big names to include the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute. What hasn’t changed much yet is the coverage by insurance companies and the technology being used by physicians on the whole yet, although some are. BD
Intel invests in genome-sequencing outfit - California
Last week, Pacific BioSciences, which claims it will map a genome in 15 minutes for less than $1000 by 2013, announced several new partnerships which
they say will help customers “rapidly and easily adopt” their sequencing technology.
That’s big news, because Pacific BioSciences’s customers are ten research institutions, including major players in genetics like The Broad Institute at Harvard University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, The US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, and eleven partner companies.
This announcement puts PacBio out front in the race for the Holy Grail $1000 genome. Among scientists, there’s a consensus that full genome mapping is the killer app for the entire field of genomics. First generation recreational genetics companies like 23andMe and deCode —
the latter recently relaunched to much skepticism after going bankrupt last year — map only partial genomes. While these companies help raise consumer awareness about genetics, mapping full genomes, scientists argue, is the key to individualized genetic information — and the essential ingredient to the industry’s success.
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