- ATP's past support for the development of high-risk technologies
has enabled practical use of DNA information.
- ATP partners with NIH to accelerate commercially practical
DNA technologies.
- NIH genome scientists cooperate with ATP to review high-risk
proposals in DNA technology.
- Dr. Francis Collins considers ATP a partner in advancing
commercial application of DNA information.
- "Real
public benefit would depend upon major expansions
in commercial markets for DNA analysis."
- "Success
of the genome project wasn't guaranteed in the early
days, even less sure was the promise of these commercial
markets."
- "We
at the NIH genome project appreciate the partnership
we've had...in the development and implementation of
the NIST ATP program. This experience has had a lasting
positive effect on advancing our research agenda and
also on how we run our own programs."
- ATP accelerated the progress of the Human Genome Project
- ATP-funded advances in DNA chip technology have greatly
improved the speed and quality of DNA testing.
- Affymetrix DNA chips incorporate ATP-supported technology.
- ATP-funded DNA chip technology is now used in all areas
of biotechnology.
- ATP funded development of high-throughput sequencing machines
(PE-Biosystems). Hundreds of high-throughput sequencing machines
are used at both NIH and Celera Genomics.
ATP Support Has Helped Establish Leading Biotech Companies
- Some
observers say ATP is the "godfather" of the
U.S. biochip industry.
- Affymetrix (Santa
Clara, CA) started independent operations in 1993, received
ATP award in 1994. Affymetrix had 512 employees in 1999
with sales totaling $201M in 2000.
- PE Biosystems (Foster City, CA) received ATP awards
in 1994, 1995, and 1998. The company had 3,504 employees
in 1999 with $1.4B in sales in 2000.
- Gene
Trace Systems (Alameda, CA) was "basically
just a couple of guys and an idea" in 1994. The
ATP award in 1995 "really launched us...allowed
us to be something real" (Christopher Becker, President).
GeneTrace now has more than 40 employees. "I can
speak for small companies in saying that [ATP] stepped
up to provide us funds and took risks where the venture
capitalists would not."
- Vysis
(Downers Grove, IL) was incorporated in 1991 and
received its first ATP award in 1994. By 1999, Vysis
had 138 employees and in 2000 reached $21M in sales. "Two-thirds
of all of Vysis' current technology, and all of our future
technology, can be traced back to ATP funding" (Uwe
Miller, Director of Advanced Technology).
- Nanogen
(San Diego, CA) was founded in 1993 and received
an ATP award in 1995. By 1999 Nanogen had 142 employees
and by 2000 had reached $11M in sales. The ATP funding
award was "like a godsend" in "getting
us going as a company" (James O'Connell, Vice President
of Research).
Sources : Quotations are from Nature
Biotechnology, Vol.16, (December 1998), p.1306. Company data
are from web sources.
Factsheet 1.E4 (September 2001)
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