Genomics

Meet Tom. Tom is like one of us, but living in the not so distant future. Today, he wakes up and yawns, bumping his head into a wall in the process. He shuffles slowly towards the bathroom, yanking the door open and stares blankly at the mirror. Suddenly, the mirror springs to life, a Heads Up Display (HUD) popping up displaying all of Toms vitals (Blood Pressure, Body Temperature, Heart Rate). His eyes sweep quickly across until it stops at on a flashing red 523, below a caption reading RNA copies/mL plasma. He sighs and presses the red number, at which point the mirror dispenses a hypodermic needle with a clear fluid inside. Tom injects himself and watches the number drop from 523 to 50. This number tracks the viral load of HIV in Toms blood. Tom is 78 , and has been HIV+ for 52 years. The fluid he injected into his system contained customized serum, directly attacking his specific strain of HIV that not only disables 90% of the viral load in his blood stream, but also deactivates the ability of transmission for the virus. The ability for Tom to survive indefinitely, even with HIV, stems from the field of personal genomics. Since the conclusion of the Human Genome Project and the first complete sequencing of the human DNA, the field of genomics has rapidly expanded into one of the most hotly researched (and contested) areas of therapeutic biology. The field of genomics is actually a compilation of a series of disciplines (experimental biology, computational analysis, and statistical evaluation), working in perfect harmony to cure diseases that were formerly dismissed as incurable. For Olga Troyanskaya, the Principal Investigator at the Princeton Laboratory for Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics, her typical day involves research discussions of both c omputational aspects of [her] work ... and [the] experimental aspects of the questions [being asked]. Olga firmly believes that genomics is inherently an interdisciplinary science that requires constant iterations and communication between computationalists and experimentalists. Although there are hundreds of different areas of research within genomics, the one that has garnered the most attention from the scientific community, the media, and even the general public is the area of personal genomics. Personal genomics have wide reaching consequences in the medical field, redefining the idea of personalized healthcare, enabling healthcare providers to give patients treatments that are truly specialized to their specific genetic makeup and the genetic structure of their individual diseases. But in conjunction with attracting popular international attention (even inspiring entire TV series based on the topic, such as the popular Canadian programme ReGenesis) genomics has created a whole new world of busi ness and investment opportunities in a search for customized cures for a wide variety of ailments such as cancer, diabetes, and genetically inherited diseases. Currently, a variety of different methods are being explored in order to advance the field of personal genomics. The first, and perhaps most familiar, is the research being conducted on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping. SNP genotyping is commonly recognized as the application of genomics toward analyzing different genetic markers in the search for inherent diseases being carried within each individual (and therefore curing them before they even happen). In addition to SNY genotyping lies the broader field of genomic pharmaceuticals, the development of novel therapeutic agents utilizing functional genomics. Currently, research in this area is still heavily based upon previously discovered drug targets (points in which current drugs already attack). By using the sequenced human genome, researchers partake in gene -family mining the identification of extra targets in the human genome than can be successfully attacked by drugs, allowing for the future development of significantly more effective drugs due to their ability to attack new sites. Concurrently to the development of gene -family mining, researchers have begun analyzing gene function. Scientists have been able to produce fully sequenced cDNAs, or complementary DNA, which has allowed scientists to better understand gene expression. With this understanding, scientists can identify quite accurately the function of genes throughout the human body and their effects on our health. These three uses of genomics are widely publicized, but several other research areas also exist, including proteomics, RNA profiling, and oligonucleotide analysis; all of which have significant implications towards discovery drugs that can effectively treat or even cure some of our most devastating diseases. Even though genomics is an area of science with great potential for improving the lives of millions of patients, it is, as all areas of developing sciences are, limited by funding, business strategy, and strategic development. Due to the high capitalization that is needed in order to sustain genomics operations (a single Genome Sequencer FLX by 454 Life Sciences and Roche Applied Sciences runs for about $500,000) as well as the constant need to understand the competitive structure within the genomics market, such biotech firms or pharmaceutical firms must generate creative business strategies in order to make such research a reality. Small to medium cap biotech firms rely heavily on creative financing strategies, often in the form of venture capital firms and primary and secondary equity offerings, and convertible debt offerings. However with the poor performance of equity markets, along with the seizing up of bond markets, it will become significantly harder for such companies to

attain funding through these venues. Therefore, much of the genomics development that will be conducted in the next few years will rely on large-cap pharmaceuticals. Such pharmaceutical firms are not only well-capitalized, but also have a well-established market, along with intimate knowledge in how to bring an idea to bear. This allows them to pursue aggressive avenues for drug development, such as the purchasing of chemical expertise. As market conditions improve, we may observe a resurgence in LBO and acquisitions of smaller biotech firms by these larger pharmaceuticals, increasing the efficiency of the biotech sector as well as increasing profits and valuable resources (human capital, patents) for the acquiring firms. Asian biotech firms are especially benefiting from the blossoming of genomics research due to a general lack of regulation (in both the biotech/healthcare sector as well as in capital markets), which allows for firms in emerging Asia to be highly competitive in advancing genomics research. In fact, there have been millions of dollars in FDI (foreign direct investments) from the US being siphoned into biotech companies in Asia. Companies such as Celera Genomics, based out of Rockville, MD, have directly acquired a majority interest of Asian biotech firms (in this case, GenCore BioTechnologies). These acquisitions have allowed for American firms to generate large profits from the research being done there as well as outsource projects to China that would be more highly regulated domestically. With the explosive growth of practical knowledge that is being generated everyday in the field of genomics coupled with the (relatively) free flowing movement of international capital, we can expect to see that biotech will continue being one of the leading investment sectors for businesses. The field of genomics will soon become a key part of our lives as researchers rapidly develop personal devices to solve some of mankinds most pressing medical needs. This will not only provide hope to the millions of sufferers of chronic illnesses that are currently untreatable by conventional methods, but will also provide a multitude of profitable investment areas for businesses.

http://www.businesstoday.org/magazine/temporarily-cancelled-running-bull/genomics