No, the Human Genome Project "wasn't just a money-sucking vanity initiative that only reaped profits for personal genetic testing companies," reports Fast Company, encapsulating the conclusions of a Battelle study into the 1988-2003 HGP's economic impact. In fact, reports Battelle (in a study sponsored by Life Technologies), the U.S. government's $3.8 billion investment "helped drive $796 billion in economic impact and the generation of $244 billion in total personal income."
In 2010 alone, the report says, human genome sequencing, genomics research and industry activity directly and indirectly generated $67 billion in U.S. economic output and supported 310,000 jobs that produced $20 billion in personal income. "Sometimes," Fast Company says, "pricey long-term science projects are well worth it."
That is also the opinion of Greg Lucier, chief executive officer of Life Technologies, who tells Fast Company that these initial hundreds of billions represent only the beginning. "In my view, DNA sequencing will become as ubiquitous as the stethoscope in medicine," Lucier says.
The main conclusions of the Battelle study are, basically, that bigger rewards come from big investment, even when that investment comes from the government, and that those rewards are only beginning to come in both financially and in terms of knowledge gained.
- read Fast Company's story
- and a release, with link to the report, from Battelle