To: johnsto1 who wrote (356 ) 6/5/2000 3:20:00 PM From: johnsto1 Respond to
ORCH...was in Barrons with the major players this week. Last week in Industry Standard with Celera. I'm not hyping,just information. Although Isaly owns his fair share of big multinationals -- Eli Lilly, Warner-Lambert and Pharmacia & Upjohn are among his favorites -- his true passion is for the smaller, more research-driven companies in the biotech area. The majority of his biotech holdings aren't pharmaceutical makers themselves, but outfits that are perfecting drug-discovery processes. One important part of the process is understanding the components of human genes, or genomics. Isaly compares gene sequencing to throwing disassembled parts of a Rolex watch on a table in front of you. "Do all the parts really add up to a Rolex?" Not yet, but it's a start. One of his favorite companies in this area, Orchid Biosciences, specializes in trying to sort out the extremely small differences in individuals' genes. From there, it seeks to figure out what they mean and how to use them to predict diseases.
