By Debbie Strickland

A three-company biotech-pharma consortium has agreed to sponsor a five-year, $40 million research program in functional genomics at the Whitehead Institute/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Genome Research.

Citing "complementary" areas of expertise, the sponsors are GeneChip creator Affymetrix Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif.; Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass.; and pharma giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., of Princeton, N.J., which also is creating an internal Department of Applied Genomics comprised of 60 scientists.

Eric Lander, director of Whitehead's Genome Center, will lead the consortium-funded project, which, he said, represents a new direction in genome research. The collaborative project grew out of discussions that began about a year ago between Millenium and Lander.

"Over the past five years, we have made contributions to understanding the structure of the human genome, by building genome maps and deciphering DNA sequence," Lander said. "Ultimately these efforts in structural genomics will give us the 'periodic table' of all 100,000 human genes. But such a periodic table is only the beginning; the next challenge is to learn how these genes function in health and disease."

The institute launched its functional genomics research program last year, but the new corporate sponsorships will expand the program to develop tools and strategies to trace the origin of common human genetic diseases, investigate DNA sequence variation, and correlate the pattern of gene activity with cellular processes and disease.

"We hope to help define half a dozen paradigms for how to use the genome," Lander said. "I would hope that hundreds of experiments will flow from this project."

The companies did not disclose details on the apportionment of financial support and rights to commercial applications.

"From a decision-making point of view, we're all equal parties," said Laurence Reid, Millennium's director of research and technology ventures. "We will all have equal access to the research technology for use internally."

Thirty-five of the Whitehead Institute's 300 scientists will be assigned to the functional genomics project. All research will be investigator-initiated and scientists have the right to publish results, subject to a delay of up to 60 days to allow for filing of patents

"Academic freedom is a critical component," Lander said. "The institute doesn't undertake corporate sponsorships without the ability to publish."

As for the companies, they hope ultimately to derive commercial applications from the basic research.

"This consortium . . . brings together partners with complementary technologies, skills and resources to generate the next level of value from genomics research," said Stephen Fodor, president and CEO of Affymetrix. *