Chicago companies pounce on gene therapy

By Robert McCoppin

June 28, 2000 Web posted at: 10:20 AM EDT (1420 GMT)

CHICAGO, Illinois (Daily Herald) -- Now that most of human DNA has been mapped, the real work can begin - and the timing couldn't be better for some Chicago area companies involved in medical research.

Corporations such as Abbott Laboratories, Motorola Inc., and Vysis, Inc., are developing or selling products meant to take full advantage of the Human Genome Project. Genetics tests already are detecting pre-birth abnormalities and pre-dispositions to breast cancer - and use of the humane genome may someday help detect, treat and prevent a wide range of disorders, researchers said.

"This is right up there with E=mc squared," Motorola's Rud Istvan said. "It's one of the major milestones of our generation."

Since researchers now know where the genes are, companies are trying to use that information to find out what the genes do. Next month, for instance, Motorola will begin shipping two new products known as "bio-chips" - small boards of silicon or glass carrying model pieces of DNA. By comparing a test subject to the chip - much like comparing a puzzle to the picture on the box - it can show where the subject is missing a gene or has too many genes.

One Motorola chip will test whether a chemical has toxic effects on various tissues. That can indicate whether a certain drug would cause negative side effects. Another chip carries 13 hereditary versions of genes, and could be used to indicate how chemotherapy would affect people with different genetic traits. It will be shipped this summer to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for lab research.

"Hopefully, it will better target the ideal drug for you as an individual," said Istvan, senior vice president and general manager of future businesses for Motorola.

Researchers have been using information from the Human Genome Project as it has come out slowly over recent years. Now that the map is 90 percent finished - a somewhat arbitrary measure of completion - manufacturers expect more demand for products like bio-chips, from researchers who now have a broad range of information to test.

Fortunes are closely tied to the human genome project at Vysis, Inc., in Lisle, which specializes in genetic research. The company already sells tools to researchers and labs for routine testing for breast cancer, leukemia, and birth defects such as Down syndrome, which can influence treatment decisions, or lead some parents to choose to abort a fetus. The firm also is developing a DNA probe, a piece of DNA that binds to a target sample and can be easily traced to show a defect that might be involved in mental retardation.

Researchers made clear that there rarely is a single, "magic bullet" gene that causes or cures a disease. While that may be true for some diseases, such as sickle cell anemia, most diseases involve the malfunction of a number of genes, so the task ahead is very complicated.

At Abbott Labs in Libertyville Township, using the Humane Genome Project to develop pharmaceuticals is a longer-term prospect. Most drugs take 10 to 15 years to get on the market. But the company is looking for genes involved in Type II diabetes and bipolar disorder, and expects completion of the genetic map will greatly speed up the process. Now, drug researchers have to test the effects of various chemicals on the proteins made by an estimated 100,000 genes.

"We're just laying the foundation for the causes of disease," said Abbott's James Summers, divisional vice-president of advanced technology. "To build a drug still takes a lot of work."

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Genome announcement a milestone, but only a beginning

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