Bothell firm pioneers genomics

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, June 21, 2001

By Kathy Day

Herald Writer

BOTHELL — Somewhere between the information carried in a gene and new drugs likely to be generated from that data sits the need to produce lots of genes for research.

That space has provided an opening for Blue Heron Biotechnology, a small company founded by a pioneer in the world of genomics — a budding science focused on identifying and determining genetic sequences.

"We’re a convergence play," said president and CEO Peter Nicholson. "We build high-tech widgets."

Essentially, those widgets are genes.

John Mulligan, a former Stanford University professor who helped establish the DNA Sequencing and Technology Center there, founded the company in 1999 to get more value out of genomics.

"We’re trying to let people take the information from the Human Genome Project and get it back into the lab for the next set of experiments," he said in a recent interview.

Nicholson said Mulligan saw a lot of bottlenecks in harnessing the value of information being gathered by genome companies and decided to focus on that.

The potential, which Nicholson calls "very futuristic," is someday to develop what have been labeled designer drugs.

Ten people with lung cancer may all have different variations of the disease. By being able to identify the variety, it may be possible to adapt a drug to an individual’s disease. Blue Heron’s technology could facilitate that process, Nicholson said.

Founded as Finch Technology, the company changed its name because of a trademark issue, Nicholson said. Although finch beaks were critical in Darwin’s studies of evolution, thus giving the company its first moniker, the Blue Heron has nothing in particular to do with the work, Nicholson said.

Employees were invited to submit names that were easy to remember and spell and didn’t sound like all the others with "cell" or "gene" in their names that were blending together. Blue Heron was the winner.

The company’s first tool is called GeneMaker. It does what it says — synthesizes genes, their variants or DNA sequences.

Essentially, it takes automation of the process further in an effort to increase efficiency, accuracy and reliability, Nicholson said.

"The technology has been around in one form or the other for 20 years with little advancement," he added.

The computer can better manage the 2 billion to 3 billion letters — combinations of A, G, T, C — that combine into genes that control heredity and protein synthesis. One piece out of order can mean a dramatic difference in a gene’s makeup.

As an example, Nicholson pointed to sickle-cell anemia. One transposed protein causes the disease, he said, adding: "An error can have an incredibly important physiological consequence … 100 percent accuracy is critical."

Because of that, the company guarantees that the synthetic gene it produces will match exactly the sequence the company requested, he said.

With a few orders already shipped, Nicholson and Mulligan think they have a product that will be in demand by a range of customers, from academia to ag-biotechnology companies and small and large biotech firms. They’ve sold the concept to seed investors, who are among the pioneers in study of the human genome, and three venture capital firms that contributed $2.7 million for the current operations.

With 23 employees, the company is set for growth, but "careful growth," Nicholson said, adding that expansion will include moving into now-unused parts of its 15,000-square-foot facility as needed, and not before.

Finding added financing these days is difficult. "There’s a lot of money interested, but no one is in a hurry to spend it," Nicholson said. "We need to focus on critical investments and to grow as orders come in."

You can call Herald Writer Kathy Day at 425-339-3453

or send e-mail to kday@heraldnet.com.