While Merck
The research conducted by Merck and deCODE genetics
The key to the research is biochips, which help scientists analyze the entire genome of an individual in a single experiment. In studying the obesity network, researchers analyzed DNA variations and gene expression levels from more than 1,000 people in Iceland, a set of experiments that would have been impossible without the tools made by Affymetrix
With systems biology picking up and such a large number of diseases to be studied, you can expect that sales of the research tools used to perform these experiments will increase. While drugmakers should ultimately benefit from these experiments because the results will help them design better drugs, Affymetrix and Illumina will benefit whether the clinical trials are successful or not.
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