Article in Science puts the facts
News release A 19 March 1999 apbiotech/corp/US05 Article in Science magazine puts the facts straight about fast gene sequencing LONDON, March 19, 1999 To meet their goal of completing the sequencing the human genome by 2003, scientists state that being able to read long sequences of DNA is a critical key to success. In a review article published in todays issue of Science, scientists from the Sanger Centre, the worlds largest genome research institute, compare traditional sequencing technologies to the new high-throughput capillary instruments. They report that when comparing the capillary-based systems, only the MegaBACE 1000 instrument can generate the 600 - 700 bases per sample they need. The MegaBACE system, invented by Molecular Dynamics of Sunnyvale, California, was the first capillary-based instrument on the market. Molecular Dynamics is a subsidiary of Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Inc. Sequencing the human genome is just like a huge jigsaw puzzle the larger the pieces, the easier it is to assemble, said Dr. Yvonne Gibson, director for sequencing at Amersham Pharmacia Biotech. With MegaBACEs high throughput capability, the read length reported in Science could amount to 800,000 bases per day roughly four times that of a traditional instrument which costs about the same. Banks of the MegaBACE instruments are routinely decoding thousands of pieces of DNA everyday in large scale sequencing operations around the world. There are over 150 installed at centers such as the Sanger Centre, Incyte, Genset and Washington University. Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, the major life sciences company, is a joint venture owned by Nycomed Amersham and Pharmacia & UpJohn; it provides innovative and leading-edge technology solutions to the problems faced by researchers and engineers aiming to discover and produce new drugs and therapies, faster and more cost-effectively than ever before. The market leader in virtually all of its markets, the companys novel systems are used to sequence DNA, uncover the function of genes and proteins, separate biomolecules, screen potential drugs and manufacture biopharmaceuticals. - ends - Further media information In North America please contact Marcy Saack, with MCS, at (800) 477-9626; outside of North America, please contact Alexander Watson, at Grayling, on +44 171 255 1100.