Better Work Through the Network

In mid-2006, Joel Kreps, who studies gene expression at San Diego biotechnology company Diversa, was on the verge of throwing in the towel after three months of fruitless negotiations. He was trying to obtain the most up-to-date gene sequence for Pichia pastoris (a yeast species that is particularly adept at expressing genes for disulfide bonded and glycosylated proteins) from Integrated Genomics in Chicago. Getting the updated sequence into his lab represented a wealth of research opportunities for Kreps and commercial possibilities for Diversa. But now negotiations were stalemated, and the deal seemed doomed.