Did you see Roger McNamee on CNBC last night?
No...I'm still in the San Juan Islands...I can't get CNBC here. (No "talking heads"...LOL) I'm trying to "pass off" as a local....I have my "Free Tibet" sticker on the car, and my birkenstocks.<g> Off to go on another hike...on Orcas Island. I'll be back Tuesday, and then I'll more actively follow the market. Having a laptop, and not having DSL is "painful"...what a difference DSL makes!!!
I thought this article was very interesting....and the recent announcement from GLW seems significant.
"PLEASE PASS THE CORN CHIPS"
"Corning's (GLW, $286) stock has been on a tear during the past 12-months.
Ask an investor about Corning's products and s/he may respond that the
company provides fiber-optic materials for the telecommunications
industry. However, if a scientist is asked about Corning's products, s/he
will likely answer that the company manufactures plastic consumables for
growing cells in the laboratory. This week, investors were introduced to
the Life Sciences division of Corning through the company's announcement
that it plans to provide DNA microarrays for genetic discovery.
DNA microarrays (also called biochips, genechips or chiparrays) consist of
thousands of single-stranded DNA molecules of varying sequence and length
-- different combinations of the four building blocks of DNA. To evaluate
the genes that are "turned on" in cells or tissue samples, researchers can
isolate the active genes from cells and hybridize (or bind) them to the
single-stranded DNA molecules on the array. Since the location and
sequence of each single-stranded DNA molecule on the array is known,
scientists can determine the sequence of the cell-derived DNA molecules
that bind those on the microarray. The result is a profile of all of the
genes that are expressed in a specific cell. The beauty of the system is
that differences in gene expression can be discerned among normal cells,
genetically defective cells (e.g. cancer cells) and cells treated with
therapeutics. Once the gene sequence is determined, scientists can make
inroads toward discovering the protein that each gene makes by comparing
the gene sequence to known sequences in genetic databases or through
cloning the gene and purifying the protein it makes.
Corning wants to enter this competitive market and grab significant market
share by mass producing low-cost chip arrays. The company claims that it
will be able to produce microarrays at 10- to 20-times the capacity of
current technologies. Furthermore, by providing access to large numbers
of microarrays, Corning will be able to offer investigators affordable
microarrays without requiring them to pay large up-front fees or establish
long-term contracts, as is customary by current providers. Traditional
chiparrays cost $1000 or more and several may be required to thoroughly
complete a single experiment. The move by Corning may be disruptive to
the microarray industry, but it will benefit the consumer by providing
low-cost materials, and this could potentially have a positive influence
upon the rate of drug discovery. Corning plans to produce chips at full
capacity in the first quarter of next year.
It is important to note that there are many types of microarrays as well
as providers. Each provider supplies a variation on the general
microarray theme. In general, microarrays can allow for the determination
of gene expression among thousands of genes. However, some suppliers
provide microarrays that specifically address cellular expression of genes
related to cancer, immunology, cell-death (apoptosis) and the cell cycle.
Finally, there are companies that are beginning to provide microarrays
that are protein-based and designed to provide information regarding
protein:protein interactions. If Corning is going to effectively grab
market share, then it may need to address these additional markets.
A few of the current suppliers of microarrays include the following:
Affymetrix (AFFX, $65) is the premier provider of genetic chiparrays. The
products are termed GeneChips and the company provides customized
microarrays as well as arrays specific for genes associated with the human
genome, cancer, immunology and single-nucleotide polymorphisms.
Hyseq (HYSQ, $39) provides its HyChip universal microarray system that
allows for the identification of novel genes and determination of their
expression levels without any previous sequence information. This is
accomplished by providing an array platform consisting of DNA strands
five-nucleotides in length for every combination of the four nucleotides
(A,C,G or T) that constitute DNA.
Nanogen (NGEN, $22) provides its NanoChip array that takes advantage of
the electrical charge that DNA molecules possess and allows investigators
to customize arrays to meet their individual needs. With the use of
microelectronics, it seems possible to analyze other kinds of molecular
interactions, including antigen-antibody, enzyme-substrate, and
cell-receptor. The ability to use the system for these additional
applications will be highly beneficial.
Illumina (ILMN, $36) uses a BeadArray probe made of fiber optic strands
that can be inserted into samples of genetic material (DNA/RNA), protein,
or whole cells to execute experiments for drug discovery. The probe
consists of 250,000 bundled light-conducting fiber-optic strands where
each fiber is a sensor. The company is initially using its technology to
evaluate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP's) in collaboration with PE
Biosystems. The tip of each fiber strand can be coated with genetic
material (e.g. DNA) or protein (e.g. antibodies) and used as a sort of
fishing line to pull out specific genetic sequences or proteins that
specifically interact with the material on the fiber. The strategy for
proteomic-type experiments can be to find protein:protein interactions
that occur in metabolic or disease-related pathways and then further
define the function of those proteins.
Ciphergen (CIPH, late Sept. IPO) provides its ProteinChip system
(consisting of disposable chips, hardware to read the chip and analytical
software) that enables the discovery, characterization and functional
analysis of proteins. Protein-based information, or proteomics, is a step
beyond the determination of gene sequence and can allow for a
determination of the function of proteins in disease and how changes at
the protein level may influence disease progression.
Agilent Technologies (A, $55) provides customized DNA microarrays. Just
this week the company announced that it began shipments to Rosetta
Inpharmatics (RSTA, $29) for its internal R&D programs and collaborations
that involve gene expression research for other companies. Thought
Agilent was simply a High Tech spin-off from Hewlett Packard? Like
Corning, Agilent also has a Life Sciences division."
THE BULL MARKET BIOTECH INVESTOR for Thursday, September 14, 2000
Volume 10, #4
bull-market.com |
