It was said of the human genome project that it has the potential to influence the life of every person on the planet. That is a heroic aspiration, and one that can be achieved only through a business-science fusion unlike anything previously experienced.
The process has already begun. Researchers are enthusiastically seeking opportunities to commercialize their work, with the full support of academic institutions. Investors and companies are bullish about the abundance of commercial opportunities in the burgeoning life sciences industry and are bankrolling startups and new projects. National governments, states, and cities are outdoing one another to proffer preposterous incentives to the developing industry. New classes of therapy, novel technologies, and better services are launched on an almost daily basis in a partnership of perseverance and progress with the medical community and patient...