Genomics and the world's economy
Enríquez, J.
Science 281(5379): 925-926
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 9722465 Document Number: 486683
As new discoveries in the field of genomics are applied, companies and industries are being restructured in a way that will alter the world's economy. The enormous flow of genomics information is driving megamergers, the biggest of which is the conglomerate Novartis, created by Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz. The company is valued at more than $100 billion and has sufficient funds and breadth of RandD to compete not only in health care but in nutrition and agribusiness. The objective of these life science companies is not to produce breakthroughs in a single field such as medicine, chemicals, or food but to become a dominant player in all these areas.