![]() ![]() At the time, the causes of some rare diseases - often variations in single genes that could be found by studying small families - were beginning to be uncovered. ![]() In 1996, when Stefansson left a tenured position at Harvard Medical School to return to Iceland to found a genomics enterprise, nearly everything in his thinking was unproven or controversial. This example has helped to spur investment in genomics and precision therapeutics by other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Since 2012, it has been an independent subsidiary of Amgen and its capabilities and discoveries have been used directly in the discovery and development of novel drugs. But it has also made pioneering contributions to the realization of precision medicine more broadly, through public engagement in large-scale scientific research the development of DNA-based disease risk testing for individuals and across health systems and new models of private sector participation and partnership in basic science and public health. deCODE is probably best known for its discoveries in human genetics, published in major scientific journals and widely reported in the international media. The company was founded in 1996 by Kári Stefánsson with the aim of using population genetics studies to identify variations in the human genome associated with common diseases, and to apply these discoveries "to develop novel methods to identify, treat and prevent diseases." Īs of 2019, more than two-thirds of the adult population of Iceland was participating in the company's research efforts, and this "population approach" serves as a model for large-scale precision medicine and national genome projects around the world. The DNA samples will remain in Iceland, and access will be done through deCODE, subject to stringent privacy-protection policies and oversight by an ethics committee of Icelandic citizens.DeCODE genetics ( Icelandic: Íslensk erfðagreining) is a biopharmaceutical company based in Reykjavík, Iceland. The CEO of deCODE states that they will have no layoffs and will probably need to hire more staff. It declared bankruptcy in 2009 and was rescued by some of its original investors, who acquired the firm for about $14 million and invested another $45 million. ![]() The firm racked up huge debts in the mid-2000s and failed to win investors as Iceland was plunged into recession in 2008. This means that deCODE might be finally able to use its genetic data to benefit patients. Two of Amgen’s drug candidates take aim at protein targets, which were discovered using genetic data. Amgen will use deCODE’s data, technology and expertise to identify which experimental drugs will be most likely to succeed. Low-cost sequencing and electronic medical records are allowing for more information to be extracted from population-genetics studies, making genomics more attractive to drug companies. ![]() The firm’s ability to correlate genetic information with Iceland’s extensive medical records is one of the reasons why the firm has been able to make discoveries. The key to deCODE’s scientific success is its access to genetic data, genealogies, and medical records of 140,000 Icelanders, roughly half of Iceland’s population. ![]()
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