Those databases will be devoted to information on proteins and on variations in the genetic codes that make one person, say, allergic to penicillin and another not allergic. For example, genetic substances that can eliminate a cancerous gene without hurting the rest of the body. Creating such databases is a complex and expensive business. Analyst Meirav Chovav of Salomon Smith Barney thinks Incyte will invest heavily through 2002 but will begin to turn a profit after that. Scientists at CalTech in the 1980s developed the gene-sequencing computer systems and equipment that allowed the genome to be deciphered in the first place.
Today there are numerous start-up companies working to adapt the knowledge to specific applications.
The Santa Clara, Calif., company Affymetrix makes semiconductor chips in which DNA rather than silicon is the material conducting and moderating the flow of electrical impulses. Microchips made of DNA are superior to all other materials because of their tremendous ability to store information, experts say. Every single cell in our bodies contains enough information to form a whole human being, the experts point out. Other companies such as Celera Genomics of Rockville, Md., provide customer companies with gene-sequencing equipment and access to databases. Human Genome Sciences is producing gene-based drugs, in alliance with Smith Kline Beecham, the major pharmaceutical firm.