All About the Narrative

MIT's Technology Review speaks with Knome's Jorge Conde about his company's $100,000 service, down from $350,000 when it launched in 2007. Conde doesn't say how many people Knome has sequenced but does note that 80 percent have been men in their mid-50s and that many customers are from outside the US. Sequencing is done at the Beijing Genomics Institute, then analyzed at Knome, and given to the customer on a USB drive during a day-long meeting. Knome has also recently partnered with Illumina to develop a more automated interpretation service to go along with Illumina's $48,000 sequencing service. "In the long-term, [analysis] will be a big driver of value," Conde says. "We will see the high price point go away, and the real value for both individuals and companies will be to provide an ongoing narrative."