Pacific Biosciences is grabbing the attention of a large number of leaders in the genetics world with its assertion that the company has the technology in development needed to complete a high-quality sequence of the human genome in 15 minutes. Pacific Biosciences CTO Stephen Turner says that the company can complete that mission within the next five years. With it, a "raw" human sequence could be done in three minutes, reports Bio-IT World.
Turner says the company will be able to unveil its sequencing instrument in a couple of years. In the meantime, the company says that advances in chip technology and DNA polymerization will be needed to bring the technology into mainstream medicine. Pacific Biosciences has raised $80 million to date.
A number of companies have been rapidly advancing sequencing technology while bringing down the cost of the work. Once costs fall below $1,000 per sequence, a goal that now seems well within reach, it will be possible to gain a much better understanding of how individuals will respond to treatments. Welcome to the world of personalized medicine.
- read the report from Bio-IT World