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Mass High Tech November 7, 2003
Agencourt Bioscience
gets $27.7M grant for genome research Agencourt Bioscience Corp., a Beverly provider of genomic services and nucleic acid purification products to the life sciences industry, has been awarded a $27.2 million grant from The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Agencourt is one of five centers selected to undertake large-scale genome sequencing projects for priority organisms designated by the NIH to be of high biomedical interest. Agencourt is the only commercial entity recognized by the NHGRI as a large sequencing center and has been awarded the $27.2 million grant, to be paid out over the next three years. The company says it plans to hire additional staff and expand its facilities to meet the goals of this important initiative. In addition to Agencourt, grant recipients include Baylor College of Medicine; The Eli & Edythe L. Broad Institute, MIT; The Institute for Genomic Research, J. Craig Venter Science Foundation Joint Technology Center; and Washington University School of Medicine. These centers will make up the NHGRI Large-Scale Sequencing Research Network, encompassing representatives of academia, private industry and the nonprofit sector. Their primary mission is to produce a publicly available resource of high-quality assembled genome sequences that researchers can use to address human biology and human health. “Agencourt is honored and delighted to have the opportunity to work with such talented and distinguished individuals within the NHGRI community,” said Brian McKernan, president and chief executive of Agencourt, in a statement. “This award is a significant milestone for the company, the receipt of which is a credit to Agencourt’s employees who have worked with great enthusiasm and persistence to build our operations into one of the world’s leading, high quality genomics facilities. We look forward to making significant contributions to the NHGRI’s sequencing initiatives.” |
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