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The Salt Lake Tribune BUSINESS Sunday, March 11, 2001 Biotech Companies Carving Out Territory ii n Gene Research identify genes important to human disease. The pace and competition have rapidly accelerated in recent years, as completion ofthe genome and devoted millions of dollars to the intensive hunt. task requires sorting through the genome’s approximately 30,000 genes, a daunting proposition for scientists used to working on only one gene atatime. The goal is to figure out which genes play key roles in any given disease. on genes ina cell produces proteins, which among other things facilitate the body’:‘S chemical reactions. A mutation in @ gene may produce an aberrant protein, or turn on a gene that might otherwise have been quiet. Thus,finding the genes involved in a disease such as diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease allows companies to develop drugs that will proteins. Many bi big and small, have entered the fray. Because of the intense competidevising i clever and thorough than thecompetition’s has become crit “The competition wfee said Jaime Escobedo, dentof discovery aeatChi. ron oaCate in Emeryville, Calif. ‘Our approach is very good buta lot of companies are trying to profi Wathees eco eae do very well. Companies have taken varied approaches to locating the genetic pots of gold. Lynx Inc. in Hayward, Calif. has developed a technology allowing researchers to quickly look Gre millions of bits of DNA at once. Exelixis in South San Francisco screens the easily manipulated genomes of small organisms eae ware ani: i sat G ch Inc. began ing for genes back in the early 1990s, before much information from the ge nome project was available, said Paul Godowski, senior director of research at Genentech in South San Francisco. The company turned to newly available tools for screening genes, jump-starting its gene-findingprogramandgettinga head start on its competition. Godowski said the work has provenfruitful. Genentech has already applied for patentson about —_1,000 genes. The U.S. patentoffice may not uphold all those claims, but regardless, the company is ahead ofthe pack, said Godowski. “It’s always a question of whether we have the right ones. Wetried to focus our attention on the genes of highest interest,” said Godowski. ology. Roche Bioscience in Palo Alto, Calif, focuses on naturally occurring variations ofDNAcalled small nucleotide polymorphisms that can lead to disease. Meanwhile, Sangamo BioSciences Inc. turns genes on oroffin cells to help determine their biological by Genentech. But Abgenix, of Fremont, Calif., has entered the gene race relatively late. The such as flies or worms, hoping to apply what it learns to human bi- ‘Abgenix wants to find genes similar tothosealready discovered company didn’t set up partnerships with companies that specialize in the genome until 1999. Still, Abgenix chief financial officer Kurt Leutzinger said he is confident the partnerships will yield novel genes. “T have a lot of respect for Genentech, but I doubtthat they have identified all the disease targets,” said Leutzinger. Finding genes is one thing. However, defining the exact biological role of a gene is another. Anticipating thatits partnerships will identify hundreds ofgenes, the company doubled its work force to 177 employees last year and intendsto do the samein 2001. However, even after a company _has pegged a few promising genes, itmuststilldevelopdrugstocounteract the gene’s diseased version. i d Many scienti: the completed genome sequence would reveal closer to 100,000 genes, rather than the 30,000 to 40,000 predicted by the two groups responsible for its decoding. The lower numbér may have intensi- fied the competition. But most say Bob Pepping/Contra Costa Times Anne Kelly, a Chiron research associate, extracts a aye to be used to locate genes within DNA samples. Biotech companies are racing to for ible nes lize on finding and fie a 92! hase there isstill plenty to go around. ‘That's complete poppycock that there’s not enough to go around,” said Norrie Russell, president and chief executive officer of Lynx. “The wondrous complexity ot the human organism is derived from proteins and their interactions, not just the genes.” . importance. ed Oh Frequent Urination « Straining « Hesitancy These are just a few of the symptoms of a non-cancerousenlarged prostate (BPH) which can now beeasily and safely'treated using an advanced nonsurgical process with the PROSTATRON®.Performed by certified Urologists, this outpatient procedure offers significant, lasting relief without surgery Fl ADVANCED. and without a long recovery period. 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