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Article: Firms in `biochip' accord Genetics Institute, Affymetrix in joint quest for new drugs
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- November 30, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1994 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Silicon Valley met Biotech Park yesterday as Cambridge-based
Genetics Institute Inc. announced a collaborative agreement with
Affymetrix Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., to use "biochips" to help
find new miracle drugs.
Biochips are dime-sized silica squares that can contain upward of
10,000 cells of DNA molecules -- 100 times more than conventional
technology allows. The DNA, or gene fragments, are the protein
building units that transmit hereditary characteristics.
Using light to create biochemical reactions for drug development
and genetic analysis, these so-called DNA chips can speed up the
scientific process of determining which fragments will bind or
connect to a particular drug substance.