There has been a lot of talk lately regarding Gene Sequencing and 2 companies in San  Diego have joined forces.  The cost of sequencing one’s DNA is coming down, as the prices of the machines come down as well.  There is plenty of competition and the real solution appears to be in the software that can handle the process to make things imagesimpler.  Since the new ruling in California though, a doctor’s prescription is necessary, thus the websites promoting the service to individuals has been halted at least in California and New York, but things could change in time.  The real benefit is to market to the hospitals and and the doctors, and not necessarily to the individual.  

Personalized medicine is still unfolding but when it comes down to potential savings on treatments and therapies the sequencers will have their place.  In addition to the companies listed here, there is also the Polonator for $150,000 for sale, developed at the Church Laboratory of Harvard Medical School, the G.007.  BD

Geospiza, a Seattle-based maker of software to support biological research, said today it is hitching its wagon to San Diego-based Illumina, a rising star in next-generation gene sequencing. Geospiza is joining Illumina Connect, a sort of referral service in which researchers who buy Illumina’s gene analysis machines are advised that Geospiza software can help them sift through the resulting piles of data. It’s not guaranteed cash flow, but it’s a source of promising sales leads for privately-held Geospiza.

The device, which costs $400,000 to $500,000, is capable of bringing down the price of sequencing an entire human genome to about $60,000, down from several million bucks a few years ago, Arnold said.The Illumina Genome Analyzer is competing with devices from Applied Biosystems, Roche, and Cambridge, MA-based Helicos Biosciences, Arnold said. Geospiza is confident that researchers will start turning to software that can help them cope with information overload from machines like Illumina’s. “Folks are getting overwhelmed with data,” Arnold said. “It’s like going through several thousand spreadsheets of data. Without more of a data management system to track, and present it, there’s no practical way to get through it.”

http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2008/06/24/geospiza-cuts-deal-with-illumina-to-help-scientists-cope-with-information-overload/

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