Celera Exec Wants Industry To Speed Up
Genetic Research
Dow Jones Newswires
TOKYO (AP)--The scientist who decoded the complex human genome
sequence said Wednesday he wants to change the way basic genetic research
is done because private industry can do it faster than the public sector and
academia.
Craig Venter, president of Celera Genomics Group (CRA), said he hurried to
decode the human genome sequence - using 50 scientists in just nine months -
to help people suffering from various diseases find faster cures and
tailor-made treatment.
"Celera represents a model for research to change...the way scientists think"
to looking at the genome as a whole rather than studying one gene at a time,
he said.
Venter criticized the slow pace of research by the public sector. Celera found
30,000 genes in less than a year.
"The government can't do it as quick," Venter said.
A relative latecomer to genome mapping, Celera quickly caught up with the
10-year-old federal Human Genome Project in the race to produce a rough
draft of the human genome.
The two called a truce long enough for a joint White House announcement of
the project's completion last summer.
With more funding coming from the private sector for basic research in the
United States and scientists taking 10 years to find one gene, Celera felt it
"imperative" to find the genome sequence on its own, he told a press
conference
"I'm supposed to be an impatient person," Venter said. "Diseases like cancer
affect all of us. I don't want to wait 100 years to see discoveries."
Celera, which in Latin means swift, is improving its technical facilities, which
will analyze one million proteins a day. Venter said they will provide "new
diagnostic and new methods to cure diseases."
To complete the genome code it is crucial to understand how proteins
interact. The significance of this research is that if every protein in the blood
can be measured, scientists can identify specific molecules associated with
cancer.
This also means more money flowing into the Rockville, Maryland-based
company. Although it is still posting earnings losses, revenue has swelled over
the past year, an increase Celera attributes to new database subscriptions. |
