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Biotech / Medical : Nuvelo (Nasdaq: NUVO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nigel bates who wrote (95)	1/30/2000 4:18:00 PM
From: Elmer Flugum	Respond to of 286

See this? redherring.com Although it remains to be seen which organization will be the first to map the human genome, it's already clear who will first put the findings to practical use: the commercial interests have won the race. Next year, when the first phase of mapping the genome is complete, human genetic information will be offered to the highest bidder, spawning an entirely new industry in biopharmaceuticals based on diagnostics, the development of drugs, and disease treatment and prevention at the body's genetic, rather than cellular, level. While the U.S. government, through its publicly financed Human Genome Project (HGP) -- sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Energy, and the Wellcome Trust of London -- continues to churn through the approximately 4 billion units of DNA at the heart of every human cell, companies like Incyte Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: INCY) and Hyseq (Nasdaq: HYSQ) are on a faster track: they're mapping only those areas of the genome that promise to be profitable. And with corporations moving so aggressively into this area of research, the project of mapping the human genome is now as much about generating returns on multimillion-dollar investments as it is about pushing the envelope of scientific discovery. The rewards will be great. There is extraordinary commercial value in the sequencing of the human genome -- that is, in determining the precise arrangement of the units of DNA in all human genes -- because it opens up the possibility that scientists and researchers will be able to develop treatments for any genetic disease or condition ever to insinuate itself into the human body. COMMERCIAL BIG BREAKS It's a windfall opportunity for the pharmaceutical companies, which have only scratched the surface of the potential applications of genetic data in helping create the blockbuster drugs of tomorrow. For example, when Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) developed Epogen, generically known as erythropoietin, in 1989, the company had no idea that the genetically engineered protein, which helps increase the level of oxygen in the body by stimulating red blood cell production, would eventually generate $2 billion in annual sales. And Epogen is just the beginning; related genetically engineered anti-inflammatory and anticlotting drugs are already in the pipeline. Of course, a good deal of controversy surrounds the commercialization of human genetic data. (See our interview with the activist Jeremy Rifkin: "Keep Your Genes On," April 1999.) Celera Genomics, for example, has drawn the most fire from the scientific and academic communities -- as much for challenging the HGP in the race to map the entire human genome (both organizations are scheduled to finish next year) as for reducing the endeavor to its basest commercial interests. The company, headed by J. Craig Venter, who formerly worked in the public-sector Institute for Genomic Research, has invested $300 million so far. Although Celera has vowed to offer all its genetic information to "public domain," Dr. Venter's critics note that the company will retain a monopoly on that data: technically, the information will be available to the public, but only those corporations that can afford multimillion-dollar subscription fees will have any practical access to the Celera genetic library. SNPs OF DATA The same is true for Incyte Pharmaceuticals, which also operates on a multimillion-dollar subscription basis. Incyte is even more overt in its pursuits: it is mapping only the 10 percent of the human genome that will garner the company the most lucrative commercial applications. This 10 percent, which contains single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs or "snips" for short) is thought to contain the human body's most active "software" codes; by mapping just this subset, companies like Incyte can get a leg up by reducing the time required to obtain human genetic data, as well as put it to use and help its customers do the same. Like Celera, Incyte will charge for access to its database. Hyseq, a biopharmaceutical company that has already mapped 12 million human DNA units through a subsidiary called GeneSolutions.com (see "Rent-a-Gene.com"), plans to do the same. Although critics of the commercialism of human genetic mapping contend that all such data should remain free and open, biopharmaceutical scientists and company leaders don't necessarily agree. Comparing the final map of the human genome to the periodic table of elements, biotech executives argue that it's not merely the data that's important; it's also what we can do with it and how it can be manipulated that is of value to the world -- and, they contend, such information can truly be mined only under a for-profit business model. Says Hyseq CEO Lewis Gruber, "If you want something to happen when it comes to mapping the human genome and developing the next generation of drugs, you should make sure that people can find a way to make money at it." Next year will probably prove him right.