Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Biotech / Medical : Trickle Portfolio -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tuck who wrote (118)	11/18/2000 3:00:21 PM
From: scaram(o)uche	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1784

>> What now would be on the shopping list of a modern medicinal/research/analytical chemist who was assembling a biotech dream lab and then supplying it on a day to day basis? << Shakers. <vpg>

To: tuck who wrote (118)	11/21/2000 12:10:21 AM
From: tommysdad	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1784

<<What now would be on the shopping list of a modern medicinal/research/analytical chemist who was assembling a biotech dream lab and then supplying it on a day to day basis? >> For a lab of approximately 20 bench chemists, purchasing new equipment, I'd want about $3M in start-up funds: I'd spend about $400K at Agilent for LC/MS and HPLC equipment (1 LC/MS + 4 analytical HPLCs). I'd spend $500K at Varian for an NMR, plus another $10K at Gateway for a nice server to work off-line. I'd spend an additional $120K or so for some Gilson liquid handlers. I'd spend $400K on miscellaneous labware from VWR. I'd expect to spend about $10K/month with VWR. Too many different suppliers to pick a winner here, I think. I'd spend $75K at Brinkmann to buy Rotovaps of various types. VWR would be the middle-man. I'd spend $50K on a Waters prep HPLC. I'd spend $90K at ISCO for some automated chromatography equipment. I'd spend $50K at IBM for PCs. I'd spend $100K at SGI for 2 nice modelling computers, plus about $100K at MSI for software. I'd spend $250K at Micromass for a high-res MS. I'd set up a $100K open P.O. with Sigma-Aldrich and expect that to last the first two months, and require re-funding every 4-5 months. I'd beg, plead, and steal to get someone else to pony up the $250K or so MDL will require for their software which I will bitch about but be unable to live without. They'll want that $250K every year, I suppose. I'd blow $50K on balances of various sorts from Mettler. I wouldn't let PCOP give me any of their libraries for free. I'd blow the $500K required from Thermoquest for the LC/MS instruments the ADME guys will need. I'd tell my biologists to buy their own high-throughput screening systems and charge it to their own damn budget. Too many choices here, I think. I'd want to make sure the biologists do deals with Incyte and Abgenix and Lexicon. I'd set aside a $1 million for the purchase of small-molecule libraries, but spread it around some: RBI, Maybridge, SIAL, Biofocus, BaChem, Calbiochem. (I'd hire someone to run the compound room and let them pick the equipment). Any chemistry automation would be custom or off-the-shelf low-cost (<$5K) stuff from various sources. I don't see a clear winner here. The big winners would be VWR (competion: Fisher), Sigma-Aldrich (Fisher/Acros), Agilent (Waters, Thermoquest, Varian, Mattson, Shimadzu), Varian (Bruker), MDL (MSI/PCOP). Big caveat: others would have a different list with different vendors (main ones provided in parentheses above). Now you just need a list from some biologists. But I don't think two of them agree on anything!