Most pharmaceutical companies seeking to apply the wealth of data on the human genome in search of new drugs have turned to startups specialized help ( science , February 7, 1997, p. 767). But pharmaceutical giant is bucking that trend. Today, Novartis Pharma in Basel, Switzerland, has announced it is committing $ 250 million to create its own research institute dedicated to track the functions of many genes being discovered.
The Novartis Institute for Functional Genomics, to be based in La Jolla, California, is expected to be operational in 2 years and will be home to some 100 researchers, says neurobiologist Paul Herrling, Director of Research Novartis. The company decided to set up the institute, he adds, because it expects to achieve "a competitive edge" if it can effectively translate genetic information in drug targets. Other biotechnology experts wonder if the Novartis approach is better than the link with small businesses, however.
the Institute will bring together under one roof the various types of expertise to conduct studies of the function of large scale gene . This functional genomics, as it is called, includes bioinformatics, microarray technology, animal models, and other approaches to identify genes that cause human diseases and are therefore prime targets for development medication. "what we want is to create an institute that integrates these technologies," said Herrling. In addition, its scientists "will help develop high-capacity methods" that will speed up and simplify the determination not only of the functions of individual genes, but also of how these genes and their protein products interact.
Few companies have tried to build this vast expertise in-house, because "this model has not been successful overall," said G. Steven Burrill, head of Burrill and Associates, a private investment bank in San Francisco that specializes in the life sciences. In his experience, the best minds in functional genomics are much more likely to start their own businesses, where they can be owners and entrepreneurs, not just employees.
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