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Steven Pete can put his hand on a hot stove or step on a piece of glass and not feel a thing, all because of a quirk in his genes. Only a few dozen people in the world share Pete's congenital insensitivity to pain. Drug companies see riches in his rare mutation. They also have their eye on people like Timothy Dreyer, 25, who has bones so dense he could walk away from accidents that would leave others with broken limbs. About 100 people have sclerosteosis, Dreyer's condition.
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Drugmakers are also investing in acquisitions and partnerships to get their hands on genetic information that could lead to more drugs. Amgen bought an Icelandic biotechnology company, DeCode Genetics, for $415 million in 2012, to acquire its massive database on more than half of Iceland's adult population. Genentech is collaborating with Silicon Valley startup 23andMe, which has sold its $99 DNA spit kits to 1 million consumers who want to find out more about their health and family history—more than 80 percent have agreed to have their data used for research. The Genentech partnership will study the genetic underpinnings of Parkinson's disease. And Regeneron has signed a deal with Pennsylvania's Geisinger Health System to sequence the genes of more than 100,000 volunteers.
Tough luck for the Icelanders who submitted their DNA altruistically.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 24 2015, @07:06PM
Yet another batch of reasons that I'm quite happy with my decision to not have children.
One more awful thing about the future that I can safely ignore (in addition to overcrowding, etc).
(Score: 2, Touché) by Cognizant on Friday July 24 2015, @08:56PM
I was sitting here pondering the gains of society based on your statement.
(Score: 1) by seeprime on Friday July 24 2015, @08:59PM
When you're old enough, you'll probably miss the grandchildren that you never had since you never had any children.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 25 2015, @12:32AM
When you're old enough, you'll probably miss the grandchildren that you never had since you never had any children.
I'm already old enough (early 60s) and I'm not missing them. Friends with grandchildren can't figure out why their children are knee-jerk Republicans and the grandchildren are worse -- overweight, phone-addicted, self-centered, helicopter-parented.