When a working map of the human genome was announced in June 2000, it was immediately clear that it would open new avenues of study and transform the life sciences, both in academia and in industry. One of the many new opportunities was in bioinformatics: the use of computers to rapidly scan databases, analyze sequence data, and help predict protein structure based on DNA sequence. Companies and universities would be eager to purchase bioinformatics tools to help them manage the massive amounts of genomics and proteomics data they would be generating.
That has, indeed, turned out to be true. But for a number of reasons, the market opportunity for bioinformatics tools hasn't been as expansive as was thought, and many companies have suffered as a result. Now companies are trying to diversify their product lines or adopt more successful business models. Some are merging to attract clients needing more complete ...
