In the early 1990s, gene therapy was hyped by researchers and the media as the next big thing in medicine.
Sleuthing for a Syndrome X gene is in its very early stages, with no successes yet.
The modern hunt for disease-causing genes began in the early 1980s with the advent of new gene-splicing methods.
The flashy new industry of personalized gene testing is experiencing some early blowback.
Millennium Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: MLNM - news - people ) and Abbott, for instance, are already in the early stages of human testing on a gene-derived medicine that helps control appetite.
But in 1991 British researchers identified a gene defect that causes rare, early-onset Alzheimer's.
Adjusted for stock splits, Human Genome Sciences shares trade at one-thirtieth of what they were worth in the gene-hype-heyday of early 2000.
Roche has two cancer drugs in early human trials that will come paired with gene tests to spot the subset of patients likely to benefit.
What make better tests possible are gene databases, first developed in the early 1990s by Human Genome Sciences and Incyte Genomics, that categorize thousands of genes by the type of diseased tissue they inhabit.
However, understanding the complete gene map of cancer will allow doctors to spot early those who are likely to develop the condition.
Thanks to its gene-hunting prowess, HGS appears to have an early lead over several rivals pursuing similar compounds.
The new osteoporosis gene finding, if confirmed by other researchers, offers an early example of how such genomic medicine might work.
While GSK's partner Human Genome Sciences invented the drug, Glaxo invested in HGS' gene-hunting technology back in 1993 and stayed the course even after murky early results.
Early trials have shown promise in treating sickle-cell anaemia, a disease caused by a faulty haemoglobin gene.
The biggest reward of Amgen's early genome work, however, may be the osteoporosis drug dubbed AMG 162, based on the bone gene that Amgen lab coats were so surprised to discover in fetal rat intestines in 1995.
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