Biotechnology
Knome
Offering consumers whole-genome sequencing--and software to interpret it
MIT Technology
THANKS TO Jorge Conde, anyone can have his or her genome sequenced and scoured for clues to future health--all for just under
Conde, Knome's cofounder and CEO, thinks that the commercial value in personal genomics will lie less in sequencing itself than in interpretation. So the company has developed software to manage, protect, and analyze genetic data; the software combs online databases for the latest scientific findings that have been validated, ranks their relevance, and then uses them to probe an individual's DNA sequence for helpful information.
While Knome's service is still unaffordable for most people, the cost of DNA sequencing is plummeting--from millions of dollars in 2006 to tens of thousands in 2009. Conde believes that when the price of genome sequencing eventually lands within reach of the average consumer, possibly within the next five years, Knome's whole-genome focus will put it far ahead of other companies.
Copyright 2009 Technology Review, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Media Services
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