Word: biotechs
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...last year's presidential election. It turned into a state-by-state free-for-all. While antiabortion lawmakers in some states are trying to ban the research--which uses cells, above, from discarded embryos or donated, unfertilized eggs--others see a potential gold mine and are trying to attract biotech firms. It's another red-state/blue-state divide, with some twists. --By Mitch Frank...
...Seeing Red A Danish biotech company has developed a new way to detect land mines using genetically modified THALE CRESS, a member of the mustard family. The plant turns a deep red when exposed to nitrogen dioxide, a gas released by mines. The grow-anywhere green, which scientists propose to sow from airplanes or handheld seed-shooters in heavily mined areas, could prove an inexpensive and safe solution for land mine detection?a boon to countries like Cambodia, which harbors an estimated four million mines...
Jennie Mather left biotech company Genentech also out of frustration when, she says, her bosses wouldn't accept her approach to fighting cancer. She argued that what really counts in a target protein--that is, a protein that causes a disease and that a drug would aim to disable--is the protein's surface. Because a body's natural antibodies do their work entirely on the cell's exterior, she reasoned, drugs should work the same way. Such thinking was heresy to Genentech, whose scientists, she says, generally analyze a target's entire genetic structure. "They were just interested...
...Arryx, Grier and Dufresne's 16-trap breakthrough was so exciting that the University of Chicago, where they were based, showcased their work to Lewis Gruber, a biotech entrepreneur and patent lawyer. Within months, he had invested in the technology, and Arryx was born, with Gruber as chief executive. Grier, who is now a professor at New York University, is the company's chief scientific adviser. Grier and company have long since replaced the plastic with a liquid-crystal device, which they build into a small, box-shaped machine that you could call a cell catcher. The technology is used...
...entrepreneurial as some of these tech pioneers are, and as brilliant as their breakthroughs are, the R.-and-D.-reliant business of biotech is still very difficult. While the companies are developing processes and drugs, they survive on venture financing and funding from larger partners, often provided when they hit milestones. Payments from AstraZeneca and other partners have boosted Astex's revenues 170% annually since 2000, and Astex has raised $100 million in venture financing. Raven has raised $66 million and hopes to land another $35 million soon. It also receives milestone payments from Abbott Laboratories and others...