Cracking the code
THE ANGLO-US pharmaceuticals group, SmithKline Beecham, has linked up with Human Genome Services of the US to convert DNA coding data into commercial products, especially new drugs. Glaxo and Roche have also made similar forays in the race for a new range of drugs and diagnostic products, which are natural follow-ups to the worldwide project to decode the estimated 100,000 genes that make up the human "genome". The project is set to be completed in 10 years, much faster than initially estimated.