George,
I have spent some time recently looking more closely at the AFFX and ILMN web sites, etc. There is little doubt that ILMN's method offers some advantages, chiefly in throughput (possibly in accuracy, but I wonder if there are cross-talk issues since they still work with wells), but AFFX has a significant first mover advantage in terms of installed base, etc. ILMN barely has a product out. Scores of papers have been published listing AFFX products prominently in the "Materials & Methods" sections. Couldn't find any using ILMN's products, except those dedicated to describing ILMN's products. Further, I think LMNX is a formidable competitor. To my eye, probably less trained than yours, their technology is comparable to ILMN's and closer to commercial acceptance. Roughly analagous to the relative positions of CALP and ACLA.
I believe all three (ILMN, LMNX, and ACLA (ACLA is also a comp to ILMN, according to ILMN's 10-K)) are BLUE H stocks. So I'll add them to the WatchList there and keep a closer eye upon them.
Cheers, Tuck |
