Sequencing the Human Genome for $5000

Complete Genomics, a startup based in Mountain View, says it can sequence an entire genome for $1000 in materials costs and will sell it for $5000 to cover the costs of labor etc. If that’s correct, they should be in the running for the X-Prize in Genomics (assuming they can sequence 100 genomes in 10 days). To put things in perspective, the first Human Genome Project cost roughly $2.7 billion, Craig Venter spent about $70 million to sequence his genome (starting with the data analysis in 2003) and it cost about $2 million in 2007 to sequence James Watson’s genome. Now, in 2008, we can get a genome for $5000. Wow. This is a major testament to just how quickly things are moving in the biotech sector. Wired News quoted 23andMe’s Linda Avey as saying that “the biotech industry has its own Moore’s Law, and it moves even more swiftly than the one that causes the cost of computer chips to drop as their capabilities swiftly increase.” This may very well be true.