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Archon Genomics X PRIZE
- 1. On October 26, 2011, at the New York Academy of Medicine, the X PRIZE Foundation announced the new guidelines to the competition as well as Medco as the Presenting Sponsor. The announcement at the historic New York Academy of Medicine included Robert K. Weiss, Vice Chairman & President of the X PRIZE Foundation; Dr. J. Craig Venter, Founder and President of the J. Craig Venter Institute; Dr. Felix Frueh, President of the Medco Research Institute®; Grant Campany, Senior Director of the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco; and George Eberhardt, centenarian and genomic pioneer. Via recorded statements, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Eric Green, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute; Dr. Richard Hodes, Director of the National Institute of Aging; James Appleby, Executive Director of the Gerontological Society of America; and Sharon Terry, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Genetic Alliance, offered support for the competition. Broadcast news veteran, Miles O’Brien, served as the Master of Ceremonies.
- 2. EVENT RECAP “We believe that the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco is the game changer that's needed to reach that final mile and transform the full promise of genomic research into practical clinical care." Dr. Felix Frueh President of the Medco Research Institute During the ceremony, Robert K, Weiss, Vice Chairman & President, publically thanked Title Sponsors Stewart and Marilyn Blusson; Presenting Sponsor Medco; Dr. J. Craig Venter and the J. Craig Venter Institute; Margaret Hamburg and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Nir Barzilai and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Thom Perls and the Boston University School of Medicine’s New England Centenarian Study; James Appleby and the Gerontological Society of America; Personalized Medicine Coalition; LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya for donating the world’s largest LEGO DNA structure to the Foundation; and Myles Axton and Nature Genetics. CLICK HERE to see the highlights from the Media Event CLICK HERE to see the Validator’s video
- 3. MEDIA RECAP CLICK HERE to see the CNN American Morning segment with Robert K. Weiss CLICK HERE to see the Associated Press broadcast segment Media Highlights The October 26 event in New York 23 broadcast news segments captured national and 142 newspaper/magazine articles international coverage. With 90 online mentions broadcast coverage such as CNN’s American Morning and Associated Press; and print coverage such as 500,000 broadcast impressions The Los Angeles Times, The 190 million newspaper/magazine impressions Economist and Fast Company, the announcement garnered more 14 million online/blog impressions than 700 million impressions.
- 5. Media Contacts: For X PRIZE Foundation: Alan Zack (310) 741-4880 alan.zack@xprize.org For Medco: Ann Smith / Melissa Mackey (201) 269-5984 / (201)269-7131 Ann_Smith@medco.com / Melissa_Mackey@medco.com $10 Million Archon Genomics X PRIZE to Sequence 100 Centenarians’ DNA and Announces Medco as Presenting Sponsor Unprecedented Competition to Sequence 100 Centenarians Will Help Usher in a New Era of Personalized Medicine by Defining a “Medical Grade” Genome New York (October 26, 2011) - The X PRIZE Foundation today announced a number of major changes to its Archon Genomics X PRIZE, the $10 million competition designed to drive breakthroughs in the future of predictive and personalized medicine to make significant advances in human genome sequencing. Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS), a leading pharmacy benefit manager, has joined as the competition’s Presenting Sponsor. The X PRIZE Foundation and Medco stated the competing teams will sequence 100 genomes of centenarians. This competition, whose purse and partial operations are underwritten by a generous grant from Dr. Stewart and Marilyn Blusson, will now be renamed the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco®. Through advanced competition guidelines, the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco will measure teams on accuracy, cost, speed and completeness of genome sequencing. The competition’s audacious target criteria for accuracy and completeness of sequencing will define for the first time a “medical grade” genome. “The goal of this competition is to push the industry to develop, more accurate, faster and more cost effective sequencing technologies,” said Dr. Craig Venter, PhD, Co-Chair of the competition. “While many new technologies have been developed over the last decade and many human genomes have been sequenced, there is still no technology that can produce a highly accurate, reproducible human genome usable for diagnostics and medical treatment. For genomics to truly impact health and diagnostic decisions for all of us, we need these technologies. We believe this competition will be the impetus to truly usher in the era of personalized medicine.”
- 6. The $10 million prize purse will be given to the first team that accurately sequences the whole genome of 100 subjects within 30 days for $1,000 or less per genome, at an error rate no greater than one per million base pairs. Ultimately, the competition looks to usher in a new era of personalized medicine through sequencing the whole human genome – the more than six billion pairs of nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA, the genetic material contained in each human cell – to a level of fidelity never before measured. To make the competition scientifically valuable and more meaningful to the general public, every team will be given the DNA of 100 centenarians to sequence. These 100 genomic pioneers, who represent a unique population of individuals who have survived their first 100 years of life, will be hereafter known as the ‘Medco 100 Over 100’ and will have donated their genome to this competition in order to further medical science. The announcement at the historic New York Academy of Medicine included Robert K. Weiss, Vice Chairman & President of the X PRIZE Foundation; Dr. J. Craig Venter, Founder and President of the J. Craig Venter Institute; Dr. Felix Frueh, President of the Medco Research Institute®; Grant Campany, Senior Director of the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco; and George Eberhardt, centenarian and genomic pioneer. Via recorded statements, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; Dr. Eric Green, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute; Dr. Richard Hodes, Director of the National Institute of Aging; James Appleby, Executive Director of the Gerontological Society of America; and Sharon Terry, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Genetic Alliance, offered support for the competition. Broadcast news veteran, Miles O’Brien, served as the Master of Ceremonies. “We are proud to have Medco as a partner for this important competition. Medco’s vision for improved personalized medicine is directly aligned with the ultimate impact of the competition,” said Weiss. “Eleven years ago, Dr. Venter sequenced the first draft of the human genome. Today, the industry is still without a cost effective, rapidly producible standard. Sequencing the genomes from 100 centenarians – the equivalent of 10,000+ years of life – is an exciting prospect that will advance medical research. The results will likely be the most accurately and completely sequenced set of human genomes ever assembled, empowering scientists around the world to conduct powerful bioinformatics research that can help unlock the secrets of healthy aging.” “Partnering with the X PRIZE Foundation on this competition extends Medco's ongoing and passionate commitment to innovations that can improve health and lower health care costs," said Dr. Frueh. “We have been at the forefront in research and programs that help to make medicine safer and more effective through genetic testing. We believe that the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco is the game changer that's needed to reach that final mile and transform the full promise of genomic research into practical clinical care." Upon completion of the competition, the X PRIZE Foundation will compile a public database of the DNA sequences and cell lines from the Medco 100 Over 100 genomes, giving researchers and scientists from around the world open access to this incredibly rich data. The knowledge gained by compiling and comparing this library will further our understanding of health and
- 7. longevity. Decoding the secrets to a long and healthy life may lead to radical medical breakthroughs that will benefit us all. “This competition brings us one step closer to realizing the promise of truly personalized medicine,” commented Thomas Perls, MD, MPH, Director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics at Boston University School of Medicine. “With the selection of centenarians as the genomic pioneers, this competition emphasizes the tremendous opportunity to discover ‘wellness’ genes and therefore learn how to prevent disease and live a long, healthy life.” For more information about the Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco, visit: http://genomics.xprize.org/ Supporting Organizations J. Craig Venter Institute; Albert Einstein College of Medicine; The Gerontological Society of America; The Genetic Alliance; Coriell Institute for Medical Research; Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center’s New England Centenarian Study; The U.S. Food and Drug Administration; National Institute of Aging; National Human Genome Research Institute; Human Genome Organization; Personalized Medicine Coalition; and the journal, Nature Genetics. About the Competition’s Benefactors - Dr. Stewart and Marilyn Blusson Dr. Stewart Blusson and his wife Marilyn share an enthusiasm for the wilderness and the stimulation of discovery, and together they explore broad horizons. In 1981, he left the Geological Survey to explore the modes of formation of mineral deposits from Mexico to the Arctic, piloting his own plane and helicopter over vast areas. He discovered a number of important occurrences of gold, copper and other metals in Canada and the US; most recently a diamond-bearing kimberlite pipe in the North West Territories was discovered in 1991. Dr. Blusson continues to conduct arduous scientific fieldwork in the mountains of northern and western Canada and in the Canadian Shield. Energetic, determined and innovative, he quietly pursues dreams of new discoveries. About X PRIZE Foundation Founded in 1995, the X PRIZE Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization solving the world’s Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prize competitions that stimulate investment in research and development worth far more than the prize itself. The organization motivates and inspires brilliant innovators from all disciplines to leverage their intellectual and financial capital for the benefit of humanity. The X PRIZE Foundation conducts competitions in four Prize Groups: Education & Global Development; Energy & Environment; Life Sciences; and Exploration. Prizes won include the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private, suborbital space flight; the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE for creating safe, affordable, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 MPG energy equivalent (MPGe); the $2 million Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X CHALLENGE for advanced rocket development; and the $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE for highly effective ocean oil spill cleanup methods. Active prizes
- 8. include the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE and the $10 million Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Medco. For more information, go to www.xprize.org. About Medco Health Solutions Medco Health Solutions (NYSE: MHS) is pioneering the world’s most advanced pharmacy® and its clinical research and innovations are part of Medco making medicine smarter™ for more than 65 million members. With more than 20,000 employees dedicated to improving patient health and reducing costs for a wide range of public and private sector clients, and 2010 revenues of $66 billion, Medco ranks 34th on the Fortune 500 list and is named among the world’s most innovative, most admired and most trustworthy companies. For more information, go to www.medcohealth.com.
- 10. Protective features of a centenarian's DNA can even overcome less‐than‐ideal lifestyles, says Dr. Nir Barzilai of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. His own study of how centenarians live found that "as a group, they haven't done the right things." Many in the group he studied were obese or overweight. Many were smokers, and few exercised or followed a vegetarian diet. His oldest participant, who died this month just short of her 110th birthday, smoked for 95 years. "She had genes that protected her against the environment," Barzilai said. One of her sisters died at 102, and one of her brothers is 105 and still manages a hedge fund. Earlier this month, Scripps Health of San Diego announced a different genome project involving the elderly. The Scripps Wellderly Study will receive the complete genomes of 1,000 people age 80 and older from a sequencing company. A complete genome reveals not only genes but also other DNA that's responsible for regulating genes. It's "the full monty," showing DNA elements that are key for illness and health, says Dr. Eric Topol, who heads the Wellderly Study. Participants in that study have an average age of 87 and range up to 108, and they've never had diabetes, heart disease or cancer, or any neurological disease. "Why are these people Teflon‐coated?" Topol asked. "Why don't they get disease?" The ability to turn out lots of complete genomes is "the new‐new thing" in trying to find out, he said. "There's been too much emphasis on disorders per se and not enough on the people who are exceptionally healthy," to learn from their genomes, Topol said. "Now we have the powerful tools to do that." New Genomics X Prize: Sequence 100 Genomes of 100‐Year‐Olds By Veronique Greenwood October 26, 2011 Insight into long life is one of the new prize’s goals. In 2006, the Genomics X Prize competition was announced: $10 million for sequencing 100 human genomes in 10 days for $10,000 apiece, to be kicked off in 2013. The idea was to spur innovation in technology by asking the (currently) impossible, the hallmark of the X Prize Foundation. But while sequencing has gotten cheap, it hasn’t gotten all that much faster in the last five years, and none of the eight teams who signed up have ever gotten to the point where such a short time span could be feasible. So, Archon and Medco, the two companies funding the competition, have revamped the requirements. This week they’ve announced the new, improved Genomics X prize: $10 million for sequencing 100 human genomes in 30 days—but for $1,000 apiece. (Currently, getting your genome sequenced commercially runs about $5000 at the cheapest.) The new version of the competition, which
- 11. will kick off on January 3, 2013, also has clearer standards for judging: the genomes have to be 98 percent complete and have no more than one error per million nucleotides. And this time around, they have to be the genomes of old folks—seriously old folks. The foundation is currently recruiting 100 centenarians who will provide samples to the competitors, and the hope is that the competition’s byproducts will include not only revolutionary sequencing technology but insights into the genetics of longevity. No one’s promising a miracle on that front; longevity is hugely complicated, and understanding it will require more than a string of DNA bases. But the set up alone is great. Picture a hundred people who were born 40 years before the double helix was discovered listening to an eager scientist explain why they really (really!) need to spit into this vial. Now Count To A Hundred October 27, 2011 IN BRITAIN, those who live to be 100 years old receive a birthday card from the queen. In the future, centenarians everywhere may also receive a call from a geneticist. If they do, he or she will be seeking a sample of DNA that might, eventually, help to reveal the genetic components of extreme longevity. The more immediate use, however, will be in a competition. For on October 26th the X Prize Foundation, based in Playa Vista, California, unveiled its latest carrot to the world’s scientists. The foundation has already put up prizes in areas as diverse as cleaning up oil spills and landing a robot on the moon. The idea of a genomics X prize is not new. It has been around since 2006. But the latest announcement, in the pages of Nature Genetics, has a particular goal in mind. The foundation is offering $10m to the first team to sequence the genomes of 100 centenarians. The winners will have to do it accurately, making no more than one mistake per million base pairs (the chemical letters in which genomic information is encoded). They will have to do it cheaply, spending less than $1,000 per genome. And they will have to do it quickly, within 30 days of starting. The goal of the project is twofold. First, to discover what, genetically speaking, makes centenarians different from other people. And second, to try to establish an industry standard for sequencing. This is something the field sorely needs. The cost of sequencing has plummeted over the past decade, and several technologies have emerged, each backed by different firms which will, for a suitable consideration, happily sequence your genome. No two firms, however, are likely to produce the same result. The full genome has 6 billion base pairs (3 billion from each parent, though many are duplicates), which means even the prize winner will be allowed 6,000 mistakes. And some parts, particularly those where the same short pattern of base pairs is repeated over and over again, remain difficult to sequence well. Moreover, several techniques are inherently unreliable, having traded speed and simplicity for accuracy. The new X prize is designed to winnow the genetic wheat from the chaff. The scientific standards for victory have been set by a team led by Larry Kedes. Dr Kedes, who founded the Institute for Genetic Medicine at the University of Southern California, is the foundation’s main adviser on matters genomic.
- 12. Besides the low error rate, Dr Kedes requires that the sequence be complete—meaning that it includes at least 98% of the genome’s base pairs. That is taxing because some parts of a chromosome, such as those near the centromere (the place where the two arms of a chromosome meet) are not easy to get at. He also requires that it be sorted by haplotype. A haplotype is a group of genes that tend to travel through the generations as a block. Dr Kedes wants it to be clear which haplotypes came from which parent. The contest will begin in January 2013 and last 30 days. The first team to score their century of genomes—at the new standards, price and speed—will win the prize. But the wider prize, an understanding of how to stay healthy into a ripe old age, with all that may bring to medical science, will ultimately be shared by everybody. The $10 Million Genomics X Prize Will Make Genetic Sequencing Fast, Cheap, And Accurate By Ariel Schwartz October 26, 2011 The latest offering from the prizes‐for‐innovation organization is specifically looking at the genes of the super elderly. If they've lived so long, there must be something good going on. As hyped as it is, genetic sequencing remains out of reach for most people. With a cost of at least $4,000 to sequence a single genome, there's just no way that the technology can currently be used in a clinical setting. There's nothing like a cash prize to speed up research, however, which is why the Archon Genomics X Prize is offering $10 million to the first team that can quickly, accurately, and cheaply sequence 100 genomes. One other requirement: Those 100 genomes have to come from people who have lived to be 100. While that won't necessarily explain why these centenarians lived longer than others, it could be a start. "The notion of looking at people who have already lived to 100, they obviously have something working for them," says Craig Venter, the originator of the prize and the first person to sequence the human genome. "In the past, geneticists have looked at so‐called disease genes, but a lot of people have changes in their genes and don't get these diseases. There have to be other parts of physiology and genetics that compensate." Ultimately, the prize isn't just about geriatric wellness‐‐it's about making genetic sequencing widely available to the public. A successful team will figure out how to sequence genomes accurately (with a medical grade diagnostic rate), cheaply (less than $1,000), and quickly (in under one day). All of these components are critical to making genetic sequencing ubiquitous, according to Venter. A sequencing process that has more than one error per million base pairs isn't reliable enough, a process that's too expensive can't scale up, and a process that takes more than a day isn't useful to some of the patients that need it the most‐‐a cancer patient, for example, that needs genetic sequencing to determine the best course of treatment. The Genomics X Prize officially opens for entrants in 2013, and Venter is hopeful that a winner will emerge soon after. Once that happens, medicine could change dramatically. Venter cites the example of a lung cancer drug that flopped miserably in clinical trials. But after testing it on a subset of patients with
- 13. a certain genetic mutation, the drug turned out to work well. "Look at all the drugs out there that are randomly taken by large populations," says Venter. "[Genetic sequencing] could affect things very quickly." Archon X Prize Signs on Medco as Sponsor; Competitors to Sequence 100 Centenarians October 26, 2011 The Archon Genomics X Prize, backed by a new sponsor, has revised the guidelines for the competition to reflect its interest in attaining a "medical grade genome," the X Prize Foundation said this week. Under the updated guidelines, teams competing for the prize will now have to sequence the genomes of 100 centenarians. Medco Health Solutions, a pharmacy benefit manager, is now sponsoring the prize, whose $10 million purse is underwritten by a grant from Stewart Blusson, president of Archon Minerals, and his wife Marilyn. The new guidelines are in line with a shift in strategy that competition organizers embarked upon earlier this year. In March, Archon X Prize officials said that they were looking to advance genomic medicine and develop methods that would be applicable for clinical sequencing, rather than just encourage the development of new sequencing technologies. “The goal of this competition is to push the industry to develop more accurate, faster, and more cost‐ effective sequencing technologies,” said Craig Venter, co‐chair for the competition, in a statement this week. “While many new technologies have been developed over the last decade and many human genomes have been sequenced, there is still no technology that can produce a highly accurate, reproducible human genome usable for diagnostics and medical treatment." Under the revised guidelines, the prize, renamed the "Archon Genomics X Prize presented by Medco," will go to the first team to sequence the genomes of 100 centenarians within 30 days for $1,000 or less per genome, and with an error rate of no more than one in a million bases. The samples come from 100 volunteers, named the "Medco 100 Over 100." Following the completion of the competition, the X Prize Foundation plans to make the DNA sequences and cell lines of the study subjects available in a public database for researchers to study. The Archon X Prize joins several other studies that are sequencing the genomes of elderly subjects in an effort to identify genes linked to wellness and longevity. Complete Genomics, for example, recently teamed up with the Scripps Science Translational Medicine Institute to sequence the genomes of 1,000 healthy individuals over the age of 80 who are part of the so‐called "Wellderly Study". Another study by Duke University, the Centenarian Sequencing Project, is sequencing the genomes of centenarians to learn about the genetics of longevity. And recently, a team of researchers led by the Free University Amsterdam in the Netherlands sequenced the genome of a Dutch woman who died at the age of 115 years.
- 14. The Archon X Prize for Genomics was launched five years ago. The original goal was to sequence 100 diploid human genomes in 10 days to 98 percent completion for $10,000 or less per genome, with no more than one error per 10,000 bases. New X Prize Is a Race To Sequence the Genomes of One Hundred One‐Hundred‐Year‐Olds By Rebecca Boyle October 26, 2011 How do centenarians live so long? And how fast can we sequence? A newly revamped $10 million prize for sequencing the genomes of 100 centenarians could yield the fastest‐ever gene sequencing technology to date, finally bringing ultra‐precise personal genetics to the masses on a rapid and inexpensive scale. And perhaps even better, the genomics X Prize could help unlock the genetic secrets — if they really exist — to a healthy, century‐long life. Five years ago, the Archon Genomics X Prize presented by MEDCO kicked off to stimulate advances in cheap, fast, and accurate human genome sequencing, offering a $10 million purse to whoever could unravel 100 human genomes in 10 days for $10,000 apiece. Although genetic sequencing costs continue to plummet, that short time frame proved too daunting, so the X Prize Foundation decided to start over. They also introduced a new twist: The genomic subjects would come from 100 donor centenarians. Now the contest will last a month, and each sequence must cost $1,000 or less. The goal is to prove that whole genomes can be sequenced accurately and cheaply, paving the way for more widespread use and clinical practice. Sequencing whole genomes would provide clinicians a wealth of information about their patients. But it’s also an interesting attempt to uncover the secrets of longevity, which has long been a target for genetic researchers. Much of modern genetic sequencing seeks to pinpoint the causes of disease, which could theoretically be turned off or manipulated through methods like gene editing. But understanding protective gene variants, rather than disease‐inducing ones, could also provide fruitful avenues for research. “The working hypothesis is that centenarians carry genetic variations that avoid or repress common ailments; discovery of such variants may lead to the discovery of drug targets as well as disease and protective mechanisms,” prize organizers Larry Kedes and Grant Campany explain in an editorial in the journal Nature Genetics. This is not a sure thing, however. Several other research groups have been examining genetic profiles from donor centenarians in the hopes of pinpointing some type of longevity gene or long‐life indicator. In February 2010, two studies seemed to shed some light on the problem. One project discovered a variant of a gene that determines the length of telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that serve as protective caps for the main genetic material. Then, researchers involved in the New England Centenarian Study claimed to identify specific genetic markers in 800 centenarians, and found they shared a roughly 150‐gene signature that could predict extreme longevity. But the gene‐marker authors retracted their paper earlier this year, after several other researchers said they used some faulty lab equipment. (The team stood by their findings despite the flaw.)
- 15. And just this week, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine published research suggesting that longevity can be inherited in a non‐genetic manner. The research, involving C. elegans roundworms, examined how modifying protein expression could increase not only one worm’s lifespan, but also that of its offspring. So the genetic underpinnings of extreme longevity remain a mystery — one that the newly revamped X Prize seeks to answer. The main goal is rapid whole‐genome analysis, however, and the contest creators spent two years developing a method to judge the sequenced genomes. It will involve the X Prize judges sequencing 25 of the centenarians’ genomes on their own, using several different methods to cross‐check their findings, and then comparing the submissions with the known results. Entrants will have to finish the genomes within 30 days, to 98 percent completeness, with an accuracy rate equal to or better than 1 error per million bases. Each genome cannot cost more than $1,000. The contest kicks off Jan. 3, 2013. Before anyone can get started, the campaign needs some centenarian genomes, so the X Prize Foundation and MEDCO are looking for volunteers. Their stories will be archived on the prize website, to “make heroes of our 100 genomic pioneers,” the organizers write. If none of the teams meets all the grand‐prize requirements, then entrants can win in different categories, as long as they meet certain minimum standards. If more than one team wins the grand prize, it goes to whoever finishes first. “Although most races can only have one winner, we believe that after this race, the competition will benefit an entire industry,” Kedes and Campany write. “The contestants will contribute to scientific knowledge and help prepare the groundwork for applied human medical genomics, thus paving the way for personalized medicine and medical breakthroughs to benefit all of us.” Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Sequencers: Genomics X PRIZE Takes On a New Look By Elizabeth Pennisi October 26, 2011 The rules for a $10 million prize for leaps in genome sequencing just got a little easier—and a little harder. The Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by MEDCO was established in 2006 by the X PRIZE Foundation in Playa Vista, California, to encourage the rapid development of cheap, accurate human genome sequencing for medical purposes. At the time, the goal was to decipher 100 human genomes in 10 days for an all‐inclusive cost of less than $10,000 a piece. Although eight organizations eventually signed on for the challenge, none actually tried to do the sequencing. Since then, sequencing costs have plummeted, putting human genomes in the $10,000 range. But meeting the 10 days limit remained an impossible deadline. And the foundation and the sequencing community never really worked out how to judge the prize. As a result, they've decided to start over. Today, in Nature Genetics and at a New York City press briefing, Larry Kedes and Grant Campany from the X PRIZE Foundation laid out the revised challenge, which includes a less tight deadline and other changes. Under the new rules, starting 3 January 2013, the gun will go off on a race to sequence the genomes of 100 centenarians who are being identified by the foundation. The deadline will be 3 February, not 13 January, but winning the full prize will require that each genome cost no more than $1000. Entries will
- 16. also have to meet stringent requirements for accuracy, 1 error per million bases, and completeness, 98%. "I think [that price] is possible to achieve," says Granger Sutton, a computational biologist at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, Maryland. "But also hitting all the other standards will be very challenging." If no one succeeds, the judges will award lesser prizes in different categories as long as entries meet certain minimum standards. If more than one group satisfies the grand‐prize requirements, then the winner will be whoever finishes first. The goal is to show that it is possible to accurately sequence human genomes inexpensively, with the hope that collecting such data will eventually become routine in the clinic. By choosing healthy people over 100 and making that data available to scientists, the organizers also hope the contest will lead to new insights into longevity and healthy aging, says Kedes. The organizers and their advisers have also spent the past 2 years coming up with a cost‐effective way of judging the sequenced genomes, inviting input from the community. They will not be comparing the submitted genomes to one another; instead by the time the contest happens, they will have already sequenced parts of 25 of the genomes with multiple technologies, using a variety of techniques to make sure each base in that set is correct. They will then compare submissions to those corrected sequences. Auditors will also go over the costs to make sure every penny has been accounted for, says Kedes. But he is still working with sequencers to come up with the final rules. The foundation will be contacting the eight original entrants, but Kedes predicts that some will drop out, because they are companies that once focused on DNA sequencing but today have shifted priorities. Other organizations that originally said they weren't interested, such as Illumina Inc., might now be strong contenders, says Sutton. Given how soon the contest will be held, "the ones most likely to compete are those who can tweak what [technology] they have," Sutton points out. Then again, "you can never be sure what's out there." Craig Venter Sets X PRIZE for Human Genome Sequencing By Fred Guterl October 26, 2011 "Today we are learning the language with which God created life." President Bill Clinton made this remark on the White House lawn on June 2000 to recognize the decoding of the first human genome. As much as anything else, rapid DNA sequencing technology created in large part by geneticist Craig Venter and his colleagues galvanized the research community into finishing the project faster than originally expected. More than 11 years later, however, gene sequencing technology has failed to deliver on its promise to revolutionize preventative medicine, and Venter is not happy about it. The idea was that gene sequencing would become so cheap—on the order of $1,000—that ordinary people could afford to have their individual genomes sequenced, which their family doctors would use to diagnose their predisposition for disease. Costs have fallen to about $4000, but the bigger problem is that results are often rife with errors. “If [the technology] is going to achieve the level of really impacting medicine the way I’ve always envisioned that it could, it has to become far more accurate.”