Genomics

23andMe slashes genetic test price to $399

Maureen Martino — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:09:15 -0400

How low can 23andMe go? Lower than $999, apparently. The Google-backed genetic screening company has slashed the price of its Personal Genome Service test, which analyzes patients for inherited traits and provides some idea of their personal disease risks, though critics say the link between genes and diseases is still unclear. The company's competitors sell similar tests for $1,000 to $2,500, making 23andMe's test by far the cheapest.

The company said the price cut was possible "thanks to technological advancements made by the company that provides its DNA scanning technology, Illumina." By offering a cheaper test, 23andMe hopes that more people will be able to afford it, leading to quick adoption among patients. In addition to the price cut, 23andMe also unveiled the expansion of its custom genotyping content along with new social networking and community features.

"By taking advantage of continuing innovation we are able to introduce a new chip that will give people more relevant data at a lower price," said Anne Wojcicki (photo), co-founder of 23andMe. "We are excited that we are opening doors for more people to learn about their health and ancestry and for more people to be able to participate in advancing research. It is important to democratize personal genetics and make it more accessible."

- see 23andMe's release on the price cut
- read the AP report

Philanthropists give $400M for genetic research

Maureen Martino — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:56:11 -0400

Philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad announced plans to donate a massive $400 million for genetic research at the Broad Institute. This comes just five years after the couple gave $200 million to establish the institute in the wake of the Human Genome Project. The endowment will fund genetic research through 2014 and allow the Institute to become a permanent, non-profit organization. The Broad Institute, which includes 1,200 researchers, is overseen by Harvard and MIT and is also associated with the Whitehead Institute.

"Of all of our philanthropy, the Broad Institute has been the investment that has yielded the greatest returns," said Eli Broad, founder of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. "Although this is a large gift--the largest that we have ever made--it is only a fraction of what will be needed to unlock the enormous promise of biomedical research at MIT and Harvard." The $600 million commitment is the largest to support biomedical research activity at universities in the world.

- check out the release
- here's the Wall Street Journal article

New tech drives huge growth in vaccine business

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 07:59:56 -0400

A revolution in genomics and molecular biology has spurred a burst of new development activity in the vaccines business. Analysts say that a slew of new products will propel 18 percent annual growth in the sector as the vaccine business swells from $13 billion to $30 billion in 2011. Merck, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Sanofi-Aventis are all pursuing ambitious new programs.

- read the article from Forbes on the vaccine revolution

Related Articles:
Big Pharma takes an interest in cancer vaccines. Report
New approach to vaccine development. Report
Vaccine "renaissance" attracts huge new venture investments. Report

FDA, Gene Logic ink genomics deal

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Gene Logic has inked an agreement with the FDA to share quality control methods and metrics that may help the agency understand disparate genomic data sent as part of regulatory submissions. The collaboration is part of the FDA's Critical Path Initiative, the FDA's effort to help the industry choose the right drug candidates early on and move them quickly and successfully through the approval process. The results of the Gene Logic/FDA collaboration will be released publicly as a first step toward formulating industry-wide standards for genomic data assessment--there are currently no standards in place.

Things have been busy at Gene Logic lately, as the company has signed deals with several large drug developers to take a second look at their de-prioritized drug candidate. This pact will be a nice boost for the company's less-than-successful genomics division.

- see Gene Logic's release

Related Articles:
Gene Logic looks for new potential in Solvay drugs. Report
Gene Logic takes fresh look at Merck KGaA drugs. Report
Gene Logic, Abbott strike development deal. Report
Gene Logic re-examines Organon candidates. Report
Gene Logic to give Lilly drugs fresh look. Report

Press Release: JCVI Scientists Publish First Bacterial Genome Transplantation Changing One Species to Another

Maureen Martino — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:19:29 -0400

JCVI Scientists Publish First Bacterial Genome Transplantation Changing One Species to Another

Research is important step in further advancing field of synthetic genomics
ROCKVILLE, MD — June 28, 2007 — Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) today announced the results of work on genome transplantation methods allowing them to transform one type of bacteria into another type dictated by the transplanted chromosome. The work, published online in the journal Science, by JCVI’s Carole Lartigue, Ph.D. and colleagues, outlines the methods and techniques used to change one bacterial species, Mycoplasma capricolum into another, Mycoplasma mycoides Large Colony (LC), by replacing one organism’s genome with the other one’s genome.

“The successful completion of this research is important because it is one of the key proof of principles in synthetic genomics that will allow us to realize the ultimate goal of creating a synthetic organism,” said J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., president and chairman, JCVI. “We are committed to this research as we believe that synthetic genomics holds great promise in helping to solve issues like climate change and in developing new sources of energy.”

Methods and techniques
The JCVI team devised several key steps to enable the genome transplantation. First, an antibiotic selectable marker gene was added to the M. mycoides LC chromosome to allow for selection of living cells containing the transplanted chromosome. Then the team purified the DNA or chromosome from M. mycoides LC so that it was free from proteins (called naked DNA). This M. mycoides LC chromosome was then transplanted into the M. capricolum cells. After several rounds of cell division, the recipient M. capricolum chromosome disappeared having been replaced by the donor M. mycoides LC chromosome, and the M. capricolum cells took on all the phenotypic characteristics of M. mycoides LC cells.

As a test of the success of the genome transplantation, the team used two methods — 2D gel electrophoresis and protein sequencing, to prove that all the expressed proteins were now the ones coded for by the M. mycoides LC chromosome. Two sets of antibodies that bound specifically to cell surface proteins from each cell were reacted with transplant cells, to demonstrate that the membrane proteins switch to those dictated by the transplanted chromosome not the recipient cell chromosome. The new, transformed organisms show up as bright blue colonies in images of blots probed with M. mycoides LC specific antibody.

The group chose to work with these species of mycoplasmas for several reasons — the small genomes of these organisms which make them easier to work with, their lack of cell walls, and the team’s experience and expertise with mycoplasmas. The mycoplasmas used in the transplantation experiment are also relatively fast growing, allowing the team to ascertain success of the transplantation sooner than with other species of mycoplasmas.

According to Dr. Lartigue, “While we are excited by the results of our research, we are continuing to perfect and refine our techniques and methods as we move to the next phases and prepare to develop a fully synthetic chromosome.”

Genome transplantation is an essential enabling step in the field of synthetic genomics as it is a key mechanism by which chemically synthesized chromosomes can be activated into viable living cells. The ability to transfer the naked DNA isolated from one species into a second microbial species paves the way for next experiments to transplant a fully synthetic bacterial chromosome into a living organism and if successful, “boot up” the new entity. There are many important applications of synthetic genomics research including development of new energy sources and as means to produce pharmaceuticals, chemicals or textiles.

This research was funded by Synthetic Genomics Inc.

Background and Ethical Considerations
The work described by Lartigue et al. has its genesis in research begun by Dr. Venter and colleagues in the mid-1990’s after sequencing Mycoplasma genitalium and beginning work on the minimal genome project. This area of research, trying to understand the minimal genetic components necessary to sustain life, underwent significant ethical review by a panel of experts at the University of Pennsylvania (Cho et al, Science December 1999:Vol. 286. no. 5447, pp. 2087 – 2090). The bioethical group's independent deliberations, published at the same time as the scientific minimal genome research, resulted in a unanimous decision that there were no strong ethical reasons why the work should not continue as long as the scientists involved continued to engage public discussion.

In 2003 Drs. Venter, Smith and Hutchison made the first significant strides in the development of a synthetic genome by their work in assembling the 5,386 base pair bacteriophage φX174 (phi X). They did so using short, single strands of synthetically produced, commercially available DNA (known as oligonucleotides) and using an adaptation of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), known as polymerase cycle assembly (PCA), to build the phi X genome. The team produced the synthetic phi X in just 14 days.

Dr. Venter and the team at JCVI continue to be concerned with the societal implications of their work and the field of synthetic genomics generally. As such, the Institute’s policy team, along with the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), were funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for a 15-month study to explore the risks and benefits of this emerging technology, as well as possible safeguards to prevent abuse, including bioterrorism. After several workshops and public sessions the group is set to publish a report in summer 2007 outlining options for the field and its researchers.

About the J. Craig Venter Institute
The J. Craig Venter Institute is a not-for-profit research institute dedicated to the advancement of the science of genomics; the understanding of its implications for society; and communication of those results to the scientific community, the public, and policymakers. Founded by J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., the JCVI is home to approximately 500 scientists and staff with expertise in human and evolutionary biology, genetics, bioinformatics/informatics, information technology, high-throughput DNA sequencing, genomic and environmental policy research, and public education in science and science policy. The legacy organizations of the JCVI are: The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), The Center for the Advancement of Genomics (TCAG), the Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives (IBEA), the Joint Technology Center (JTC), and the J. Craig Venter Science Foundation. The JCVI is a 501 (c)(3) organization. For additional information, please visit http://www.JCVI.org.

Genentech shifts its focus to immunology

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:01:37 -0500

Forbes takes a close look at Genentech's new venture in immunology. After a string of huge successes in oncology, its researchers will now be judged by their success in a new field. Scientist Andy Chan has been brought in from UC San Francisco to help search for more effective therapies for rheumatoid arthritis. He's looking to new advances in genomics to identify the right approach. It's a risky bet, with some high-profile programs in the field that have already experienced trouble. RA drugs also aren't likely to fetch the big prices that cancer therapies can command.

"When I first came to Genentech," research chief Susan Desmond-Hellmann tells Forbes, "we were just starting to develop Avastin. Right now, immunology feels that way."

- read the article on Genentech from Forbes

Related Articles:
Genentech hiring researchers in big R&D push. Report
Genentech inks $300M pact with AC Immune. Report
Autoimmune disease research points to new therapies. Report

The research keeps getting better

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:01:35 -0500

In case you haven't heard, the Government Accounting Office recently crunched the numbers and reported back that the drug discovery industry keeps spending more on research while it comes up with fewer NDAs. The trend was tracked for 11 years through 2004. I'd be willing to bet, though, that a surge in early-stage trials will eventually lead to the promised land of more marketing applications. Maybe I'm just an optimist, but the research underway in the drug discovery area is solid and it takes a number of years before the proof shows up in the NDA process. Biotech is short on magic wands and magic lamps. It's a long, slow, expensive process.

Even a nodding acquaintance with the research world, though, is enough to excite the worst kind of skeptic. The highly touted world of personalized medicine is gradually becoming a reality with solid advances in genomics, biomarkers and diagnostics. We won't get to the promised land by the end of 2007, but we'll see more steady advances as successful companies are rewarded with increased share prices.

Korea blueprints $14.3B biotech investment plan

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 19:01:34 -0500

Korea's government has unveiled plans to invest $14.3 billion into the country's biotech industry to support research and commercialization efforts. Korea's goal is to push the biotech industry to become a $60 billion market by 2016. The government wants to integrate biotech work with advances in genomics, information technology and nanotechnology. There are also plans to provide clear ethical oversight to make sure there's no repeat of the recent humiliating scandal over faked research by Hwang Woo-suk.

- here's the report from The Korea Times

Related Articles:
Top five regions targeting biotech companies. Report
Magazine retracts discredited paper on embryonic stem cells. Report

Editor's Corner

Sun, 08 Oct 2006 20:01:39 -0400

As I covered in the latest issue of FierceBioResearcher, the National Institutes of Health is pushing a new consortium of academic research centers that is intended to coax scientists to work more collaboratively and speed their work into new products. In six years annual NIH funding will hit $500 million. That's a powerful incentive for the lone scientists who traditionally have kept their research under wraps to open up to the greater world. Academic research has been booming in recent years as more and more institutions enhance their reputations and their budgets with ground-breaking scientific projects in disease. This is the seed work that will push new programs at biotech companies, and the NIH is right to use its financial clout to gain wider cooperation in the field. New work in genomics alone will pay off much more quickly if this funding program is a success. It's good to see that the NIH is thinking creatively.- John Carroll

DeCODE alleges ex-employees stole trade secrets

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 20:01:36 -0400

Iceland's deCODE Genetics is suing five former employees for allegedly stealing research knowledge and trade secrets and using them at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. And the biotech company says the theft was done with the knowledge of the hospital staff, an allegation the hospital denies. Hakon Hakonarson, deCODE's former vice president of business development, is named in the suit along with four others recruited by the Center for Applied Genomics, which is part of Children's Hospital. The hospital says it will defend its employees in the suit.

- read the AP report on the lawsuit

X Prize prepares $10M genomics contest

Sun, 24 Sep 2006 20:01:36 -0400

The X Prize Foundation is preparing to offer a $10 million prize to the research team which can slash the cost of mapping a human genome. The genomics prize is intended to make it feasible for someone to have their DNA sequenced to better understand their risk for disease. The X Prize Foundation, which plans to make the announcement on October 4, wants to reduce the cost of sequencing to thousands of dollars and just days of lab time. The exact details of the contest aren't known yet, and some researchers expressed some skepticism that $10 million would be enough to drive major new research in the field.

- check out the article on the prize from The Philadelphia Inquirer

Gene Logic cuts jobs at struggling genomics division

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 20:01:35 -0400

Gene Logic is cutting 80 jobs at its struggling genomics division, saving about $8 million a year in expenses. The division, which has been performing poorly, provides access to gene and toxicogenomics databases. The division has been undergoing an internal evaluation, and there's no guarantee that there won't be more layoffs in the near term.

- see the report on the restructuring from the Washington Business Journal

Editor's Corner

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 20:01:40 -0400

Heads up!

On Thursday we'll be debuting the first weekly issue of FierceBioResearcher. Unlike our daily report, FierceBioResearcher will concentrate exclusively on the science and technology of drug discovery. We'll focus on the research work that is pinpointing new drug targets, carry the latest in genomics news and look at the new tools and technology that are being deployed in discovery work at every stage of development. Based on the surveys we've been running, this will fill a big hole in our biotech coverage. And we have great expectations on reaching a worldwide audience. Also, if you have an 800 to 1,000-word piece you'd like to submit on science and technology, please forward it to me. Our aim is to make this as informative as possible and, as always, I'd appreciate as much feedback as you can send my way. - John Carroll

ALSO NOTED: New warning added to Aptivus; Novartis increases NeuTec control; and much more...

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> The warning on the AIDS drug Aptivus is being updated to include a warning that the drug has been linked to sometimes fatal cases of bleeding in the brain. Report

> Novartis has acquired 8.3 percent of NeuTec, bringing its total to 52 percent as it pursues plans to buy the British biotech. Report

> Japan's Astellas Pharma has picked three drugs in its pipeline for rapid development. Report

> Quantum Genomics of Jersey City, NJ has opened its European headquarters near Paris. Release

> Pfizer is cutting the price of some drugs that have lost patent protection in Switzerland. Report

> The board of Barr Pharmaceuticals says it can win the battle for control of Pliva. Report

And Finally... Scientists are discovering that cloned animals are often dramatically different from their originals. Article

Editor's Corner

Sun, 21 May 2006 20:01:40 -0400

Down in the media lab at FierceMarkets, the company that brings you FierceBiotech, we're building a new weekly publication that would focus squarely on the research side of biotechnology. This publication would highlight advances in biotech information technology, genomics, proteomics and molecular research. Essentially, we would like to focus on the news that would most interest the researcher in biotechnology. We would love to hear from any of our readers on what you would like to see in this weekly edition and how we could better develop it as essential reading for the biotech R&D industry. If you have any ideas you'd like to share, drop me an e-mail. - John Carroll

ALSO NOTED: Parkinson's patch gets European OK; U.S. Genomics promotes new CEO; Enbrel demonstrates efficacy against depression

Wed, 14 Dec 2005 19:00:50 -0500

> Germany's Schwarz Pharma received a thumb's up from a European medicines panel for its Neupro patch for patients with Parkinson's disease. Report

> Chutes & Ladders: U.S. Genomics has promoted John J. Canepa to CEO. Canepa originally joined U.S. Genomics as chief financial officer. Release

> Researchers say the psoriasis drug Enbrel also appears to work against depression and fatigue that is common among sufferers of the disease. Release

> Inamed's board has approved the acquisition of Allergan. Report

> Chutes & Ladders: Third Wave Technologies has named Kevin T. Conroy president and CEO. Conroy succeeds John J. Puisis, who has resigned. Release

And Finally… Congressional negotiators have rallied behind a bill that would put cold medications under lock and key in a move that may bolster a new push to approve OTC Plan B. Article

Trend: Research points to rapid growth of R&D outsourcing

Tue, 22 Nov 2005 19:01:35 -0500

A new report from Frost & Sullivan looking at Europe's drug development business says that 40 percent of the continent's R&D work will be outsourced by 2010. The trend has left pharma companies scrambling to strike up alliances with biotechnology firms, university research centers, contract research organizations, specialized niche vendors and general service providers. "Despite cost efficiency being a contributing factor to encourage outsourcing, the impact of genomics and proteomics in therapeutics has also resulted in an increasing awareness of the benefits of outsourcing," said Dr. Amarpreet Dhiman, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

- see this press release for more

DEALS: Pfizer buys Vicuron for $1.9B

Wed, 22 Jun 2005 20:01:32 -0400

Pfizer buys Vicuron for $1.9B

DEALS
WHO	WITH	WHAT	SCOOP
Pfizer	Vicuron Pharmaceuticals	$1.9B buyout	The move hands Pfizer new anti-infectives for both hospital-based and community-acquired infections.
ML Laboratories	Quadrant Technologies	£46.7 million acquisition	The buyout gives ML Laboratories a big boost in the field of inhaled medicines.
Clinical Data	Genaissance Pharmaceuticals	$56 million acquisition	The buyout provides Clinical Data -- a diagnostic company -- with a leader in molecular testing.
GNI Ltd.	Shanghai Genomics	Merger	The combination marries GNI's clinical development programs with Shanghai Genomics' contract research abilities.
Genentech	Biogen Idec	$408 million plant acquisition	Biogen Idec is selling its California manufacturing facility as Tysabri's fate remains in limbo.
Cephalon	Cell Therapeutics	Trisenox acquisition	Cephalon adds an approved drug for hematologic malignancies.
QVT Fund	Biosynexus	Acquisition	The New York hedge fund acquires a portfolio of products for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.
Fisher Scientific	McKesson	$60 million subsidiary buyout	Fisher Scientific is buying the Bioservices division, which manages biological specimens and clinical trial materials.