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Company type | Subsidiary |
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Industry | Biotechnology |
Founded | 1992 |
Headquarters | Santa Clara, California, U.S. |
Number of locations | 11 |
Key people | Stephen Fodor, Frank Witney (CEO) |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Number of employees | 1,141 [3] |
Parent | Thermo Fisher Scientific |
Website | https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/life-science/microarray-analysis.html |
Affymetrix is now Applied Biosystems, a brand of DNA microarray products sold by Thermo Fisher Scientific that originated with an American biotechnology research and development and manufacturing company of the same name. [4] The Santa Clara, California-based Affymetrix, Inc. now a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific was co-founded by Alex Zaffaroni and Stephen Fodor. Stephen Fodor and his group, based on their earlier development of methods to fabricate DNA microarrays using semiconductor manufacturing techniques. [5] [6]
In 1994, the company's first product under the "GeneChip" Affymetrix trademark, an HIV genotyping chip was introduced, [7] and the company went public in 1996. [8]
After incorporation, Affymetrix grew in part by acquiring technologies from other companies, including Genetic MicroSystems (slide-based Microarrays and scanners)[ citation needed ] and Neomorphic (for bioinformatics) in 2000, [9] ParAllele Bioscience (custom SNP genotyping),[ citation needed ] USB/Anatrace (biochemical reagents) in 2008, [10] Panomics (low to mid-plex applications) in 2008,[ citation needed ] and eBioscience (flow cytometry) in 2012. [11] Affymetrix spun off Perlegen Sciences, [12] [ when? ] as a discrete business focusing on wafer-scale genomics to characterize population-variance of genomic markers. [13]
In January 2014, the Food and Drug Administration approved Affymetrix's postnatal blood test, CytoScan Dx Assay, looking at whole-genome correlates of congenital abnormalities and other causes of childhood developmental delay. [14]
On January 8, 2016, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced its acquisition of Affymetrix for approximately $1.3 billion, [15] which closed on March 31, 2016. [16]
Affymetrix, Inc. was spun-off from Affymax Research Institute by Alex Zaffaroni in 1993, and was eventually based in Santa Clara, California, United States. [17] It began as a unit in Affymax N.V. in 1991 under Fodor and his group. [17] [18] In the late 1980s, that group had developed methods for fabricating DNA microarrays, under the "GeneChip" Affymetrix trademark, using semiconductor manufacturing techniques.[ citation needed ] The company's first product, an HIV genotyping GeneChip, was introduced in 1994[ citation needed ] and the company went public in 1996. [19]
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Affymetrix, Inc. made glass chips for analysis of DNA Microarrays called GeneChip arrays, and sold mass-produced GeneChip arrays intended to match scientifically important parts of human and other animal genomes. Manufactured using photolithography, Affymetrix's GeneChip arrays assisted researchers in quickly scanning for the presence of particular genes in a biological sample. In this area, Affymetrix was focused on oligonucleotide microarrays, which could be used to address the presence of genes through detection of specific corresponding segments of mRNA. The single-use chips could be used to analyze thousands of genes in a single assay. The company also manufactured machinery for high speed analysis of biological samples, and its GeneChip Operating Software as a system for managing Affymetrix microarray data.
Affymetix's competitors in the DNA Microarray business include Illumina, GE Healthcare, Applied Biosystems, Beckman Coulter, Eppendorf Biochip Systems, and Agilent.
Prior to its acquisition by Thermo Fisher, and its becoming a line of its products, Affymetrix, Inc. had acquired the technologies of a number of companies. It acquired Genetic MicroSystems for slide-based microarrays and scanners and Neomorphic for bioinformatics, both in 2000, [20] [21] ParAllele Bioscience for custom SNP genotyping,[ when? ][ citation needed ] USB/Anatrace for biochemical reagents in 2008,[ verification needed ] [22] eBioscience for flow cytometry in 2012,[ verification needed ] [23] and Panomics in 2008[ verification needed ] [24] and True Materials[ when? ] to expand its offering of low to mid-plex applications. [25] [26] In 2000, Perlegen Sciences spun out from Affymetrix to focus on wafer-scale genomics for massive data creation and collection required for characterizing population variance of genomic markers and expression for the drug discovery process.[ citation needed ]
In January 2014, the Food and Drug Administration cleared a first-of-a-kind whole-genome postnatal blood test that can aid physicians in identifying the underlying genetic cause of developmental delay, intellectual disability, congenital anomalies, or dysmorphic features in children, where it was noted that "[a]bout 2 to 3 percent of U.S. children have some sort of intellectual disability, according to the National Institutes of Health." [27] The test, known as CytoScan Dx Assay, was designed to diagnose these disabilities earlier to expedite appropriate care and support.
Agilent Technologies, Inc. is a global company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for laboratories. Agilent was established in 1999 as a spin-off from Hewlett-Packard. The resulting IPO of Agilent stock was the largest in the history of Silicon Valley at the time. From 1999 to 2014, the company produced optics, semiconductors, EDA software and test and measurement equipment for electronics; that division was spun off to form Keysight. Since then, the company has continued to expand into pharmaceutical, diagnostics & clinical, and academia & government (research) markets.
A DNA microarray is a collection of microscopic DNA spots attached to a solid surface. Scientists use DNA microarrays to measure the expression levels of large numbers of genes simultaneously or to genotype multiple regions of a genome. Each DNA spot contains picomoles of a specific DNA sequence, known as probes. These can be a short section of a gene or other DNA element that are used to hybridize a cDNA or cRNA sample under high-stringency conditions. Probe-target hybridization is usually detected and quantified by detection of fluorophore-, silver-, or chemiluminescence-labeled targets to determine relative abundance of nucleic acid sequences in the target. The original nucleic acid arrays were macro arrays approximately 9 cm × 12 cm and the first computerized image based analysis was published in 1981. It was invented by Patrick O. Brown. An example of its application is in SNPs arrays for polymorphisms in cardiovascular diseases, cancer, pathogens and GWAS analysis. It is also used for the identification of structural variations and the measurement of gene expression.
In molecular biology, biochips are engineered substrates that can host large numbers of simultaneous biochemical reactions. One of the goals of biochip technology is to efficiently screen large numbers of biological analytes, with potential applications ranging from disease diagnosis to detection of bioterrorism agents. For example, digital microfluidic biochips are under investigation for applications in biomedical fields. In a digital microfluidic biochip, a group of (adjacent) cells in the microfluidic array can be configured to work as storage, functional operations, as well as for transporting fluid droplets dynamically.
Invitrogen is one of several brands under the Thermo Fisher Scientific corporation. The product line includes various subbrands of biotechnology products, such as machines and consumables for polymerase chain reaction, reverse transcription, cloning, culturing, stem cell production, cell therapy, regenerative medicine, immunotherapy, transfection, DNA/RNA purification, diagnostic tests, antibodies, and immunoassays.
Stephen P. A. "Steve" Fodor is a scientist and businessman in the field of DNA microarray technology.
Sequencing by hybridization is a class of methods for determining the order in which nucleotides occur on a strand of DNA. Typically used for looking for small changes relative to a known DNA sequence. The binding of one strand of DNA to its complementary strand in the DNA double-helix is sensitive to even single-base mismatches when the hybrid region is short or if specialized mismatch detection proteins are present. This is exploited in a variety of ways, most notably via DNA chips or microarrays with thousands to billions of synthetic oligonucleotides found in a genome of interest plus many known variations or even all possible single-base variations.
AmpliChip CYP450 Test is a clinical test from Roche and part of the AmpliChip series. The test aims to find the specific gene types ( genotypes) of the patient that will determine how he or she metabolizes certain medicines, and therefore guides the doctors to prescribe the medicine suited for the best effectiveness and least side effects.
Illumina, Inc. is an American biotechnology company, headquartered in San Diego, California. Incorporated on April 1, 1998, Illumina develops, manufactures, and markets integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological function. The company provides a line of products and services that serves the sequencing, genotyping and gene expression, and proteomics markets, and serves more than 155 countries.
ChIP-on-chip is a technology that combines chromatin immunoprecipitation ('ChIP') with DNA microarray ("chip"). Like regular ChIP, ChIP-on-chip is used to investigate interactions between proteins and DNA in vivo. Specifically, it allows the identification of the cistrome, the sum of binding sites, for DNA-binding proteins on a genome-wide basis. Whole-genome analysis can be performed to determine the locations of binding sites for almost any protein of interest. As the name of the technique suggests, such proteins are generally those operating in the context of chromatin. The most prominent representatives of this class are transcription factors, replication-related proteins, like origin recognition complex protein (ORC), histones, their variants, and histone modifications.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is an American supplier of analytical instruments, life sciences solutions, specialty diagnostics, laboratory, pharmaceutical and biotechnology services. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Thermo Fisher was formed through the merger of Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific in 2006. Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired other reagent, consumable, instrumentation, and service providers, including Life Technologies Corporation (2013), Alfa Aesar (2015), Affymetrix (2016), FEI Company (2016), BD Advanced Bioprocessing (2018), and PPD (2021).
FamilyTreeDNA is a division of Gene by Gene, a commercial genetic testing company based in Houston, Texas. FamilyTreeDNA offers analysis of autosomal DNA, Y-DNA, and mitochondrial DNA to individuals for genealogical purpose. With a database of more than two million records, it is the most popular company worldwide for Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA, and the fourth most popular for autosomal DNA. In Europe, it is the most common also for autosomal DNA. FamilyTreeDNA as a division of Gene by Gene were acquired by MYDNA, Inc., an Australian company, in January 2021.
23andMe Holding Co. is a publicly traded personal genomics and biotechnology company based in South San Francisco, California. It is best known for providing a direct-to-consumer genetic testing service in which customers provide a saliva sample that is laboratory analysed, using single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping, to generate reports relating to the customer's ancestry and genetic predispositions to health-related topics. The company's name is derived from the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a diploid human cell.
Applied Biosystems is one of various brands under the Life Technologies brand of Thermo Fisher Scientific corporation. The brand is focused on integrated systems for genetic analysis, which include computerized machines and the consumables used within them.
Tiling arrays are a subtype of microarray chips. Like traditional microarrays, they function by hybridizing labeled DNA or RNA target molecules to probes fixed onto a solid surface.
GeneDx is a genetic testing company that was founded in 2000 by two scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Sherri Bale and John Compton. They started the company to provide clinical diagnostic services for patients and families with rare and ultra-rare disorders, for which no such commercial testing was available at the time. The company started in the Technology Development Center, a biotech incubator supported by the state of Maryland and Montgomery County, MD. In 2006, BioReference Laboratories acquired GeneDx. Since then, GeneDx has operated as a subsidiary of this parent company under the leadership of Bale and Compton. In October 2016, Benjamin D. Solomon was appointed as managing director.
Dionex Corporation is an American company based in Sunnyvale, California. It develops, manufactures, sells, and services analytical chromatography systems for separating, isolating, and identifying the components of chemical mixtures. Such equipment is used in pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical research, environmental monitoring, and food testing.
Eric Emil Schadt is an American mathematician and computational biologist. He is founder and former chief executive officer of Sema4, a patient-centered health intelligence company, and dean for precision medicine and Mount Sinai Professor in Predictive Health and Computational Biology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He was previously founding director of the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology and chair of the Department of Genetics and Genomics Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Lineagen, Inc. is a privately held personal genomics and biotechnology company based in Salt Lake City, UT. The company was incorporated in 2006 and collaborated with two leading autism research institutions: the University of Utah and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), to identify novel genetic variants likely causal of autism spectrum disorder. Lineagen was granted an exclusive commercial license to these novel genetic variants. Notably, the markers from CHOP, published in Nature and PLoS Genetics, were named by TIME magazine as one of the top ten medical breakthroughs of 2009.
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Helmy Eltoukhy is an American scientist and a businessperson who co-founded startups Avantome and Guardant Health. He is best known for his contributions to genomics, semiconductor DNA sequencing, and personalized medicine. His startups were acquired by Illumina in 2008. Avantome was founded to develop and commercialize semiconductor-based DNA sequencing, during the race for the $1,000 genome. Guardant Health was founded to pioneer non-invasive liquid biopsy approaches for cancer diagnosis, monitoring, personalized medicine treatment, and research.