The Secret of Life

So the genetic code handles the timing. We don't know how this works yet. We do know that the code is saying, "These parts have to be delivered to make this cell over there, instead of that cell over there." Now, once we understand how proteins and genetic code work together, we can move on to the next stage. Celera wants to work to develop cancer vaccines. If we can understand how the code interacts with the proteins, we can go a long way toward finding a cure for cancer and for other terrible diseases.

Is your breakthrough the result of a different approach to research? It's the result of a different kind of research tool. I believe that the right tools make all the difference in this business. At every stage in the history of science, fundamental breakthroughs have happened after a new set of tools have been developed and when those tools have been used to gain a new way to look at the world. The creation of the telescope allowed Galileo to discover that Earth wasn't the center of the universe. The creation of the DNA sequencer allowed geneticists to prove once and for all that human beings are not at the center of the biological universe. In both cases, it was a tool that made the breakthrough possible. In some ways, science hasn't changed much in nearly 400 years.

A question that lots of people are now wrestling with is, What are the implications of genomics? What do you think the breakthrough in genomics will mean for human life?

The biggest immediate change will be in the way that genomics dramatically increases our understanding of disease. And that understanding will lead to new approaches to creating drugs and to treating disease. Right now, doctors and pharmaceutical companies have an economic problem. In order to maintain their business goals, they will have to develop and introduce new drugs three to five times faster than they have previously. Wall Street has set these expectations for financial success: Companies have to grow at least 25% a year, or they're not succeeding. That requirement would create a lot of pressure for any business. It means that pharmaceutical companies can't just settle for 2 or 3 or even 6 new drugs a year; they have to introduce 10 to 20 new drugs a year.

Drugs are increasingly being discovered using rational, scientific approaches. But those approaches are still highly limited. A lot of people think that the process of moving from gene sequencing to drug development is a simple one: You get a gene sequence, you look at it, and it tells you what to do; a cure for a disease is instantly apparent. But in fact, the opposite is true. You have to start by figuring out the gene's context. That's what genomics does: It shows you how everything fits into a larger context. Genomics helps you understand the architecture of disease.

The second big implication of genomics is this: Research is going to take an exponential leap forward. As information becomes more and more available, scientists will be able to determine how to use that information, and the circle of knowledge will broaden.

This past April, Celera published the Drosophila genome. There are 6,000 scientists in the world who study Drosophila. It's important work, because the genetic structure of a fruit fly is similar to the genetic structure of a human being. Now, instead of taking 10 years to find and characterize a gene in the Drosophila genome, these scientists can get that data from computer searches in 10 to 15 seconds. We already have a cascade of people doing research that they couldn't have imagined doing a year ago.

As scientists publish their results and move to the next stage in their work, the rate of progress will build exponentially. And it's already helping the pharmaceutical industry to target its drugs more effectively. The human genome is going to refocus the energy of researchers around the world -- and that redirection will lead to the discovery of new diagnostics.

However, we can't predict that this approach will lead to a cure for breast cancer in, say, three years. I'm very confident that the genome work that we've done will lead to a cure. But there is no way to put a timeline on a discovery -- beyond knowing that eventually it's going to change everything across the board.

Where does Celera fit into all of this?

For Celera, the future is more and more about interpreting information. It's a business that reaches from pharmaceutical companies to each of us as individuals. My long-term vision -- and I don't know if the long term is 3 years or 10 years -- is basically this: We will help people sort out their own genetic code, and we will help them understand what that code means for their life and for their future. Once they have that information, we will tell them what medical and prognostic choices they have.