The sequencing of the human genome is one of biotech's greatest technical achievements to date. But some biomedical researchers argue that they won't truly understand how genes contribute to health and disease -- and so won't be able to turn genomic knowledge into new cures and treatments -- until they can compare, letter by letter, the DNA sequences of thousands of sick and healthy people. And that is just not possible with today's technology; using about 100 state-of-the-art sequencing machines to fully sequence the 3.2 billion DNA letters that make up one person's genome would take six months and cost $20 million to $30 million.

A few companies, however, are close to commercializing technologies that could begin to chip away at the high cost of decoding genomes. Among them is one-year-old startup Helicos BioSciences, located in Cambridge, MA. Using technology developed by Stephen Quake, a Stanford University biophysicist, and with $27 million in venture capital funding, Helicos is currently building its first sequencing machine. The company intends to place the device in an academic lab for testing by the end of the year. Helicos's first commercial sequencing machines will be ready for sale by the end of 2006 or early 2007, says president and CEO Stan Lapidus.