Archon X Prize

The Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, the second X PRIZE to be offered by the X PRIZE Foundation, based in Santa Monica, California, was announced on October 4, 2006. The Archon X PRIZE in genomics is a joint effort of the X PRIZE Foundation and the J. Craig Venter Science Foundation.

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The $10 million prize (US), donated by diamond prospector Stewart Blusson, is to be awarded to "the first Team that can build a device and use it to sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days or less, with an accuracy of no more than one error in every 100,000 bases sequenced, with sequences accurately covering at least 98% of the genome, and at a recurring cost of no more than $10,000 (US) per genome."

In comparison, the Human Genome Project, was completed at an overall cost of some $3 billion (US), in 2003, by the joint effort of several teams, one of which was that of Dr. J. Craig Venter, who led the first private team to successfully sequence a complete human genome. In preceding decades, combined governmental and private funding efforts spent hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the instrumentation required. It took the Venter team hundreds of millions of dollars (US) and nine months to achieve their historic accomplishment.

The J. Craig Venter Science Foundation offered the $500,000 (US) Innovation in Genomics Science and Technology Prize in September 2003 aimed at stimulating development of less expensive and faster sequencing technology. To attract even more resources to this goal, Dr. Venter joined forces with the X PRIZE Foundation, wrapping his competition and prize purse into the new Archon X PRIZE for Genomics.

The Competition Guidelines

The purpose of Archon X PRIZE competition is to develop radically new technology that will dramatically reduce the time and cost of sequencing genomes, and accelerate a new era of predictive and personalized medicine. The X PRIZE Foundation aims to enable the development of low-cost diagnostic sequencing of human genomes.

If more than one Team attempts the competition at the same time, and more than one Team fulfills all the criteria, then Teams will be ranked according to the time of completion. No more than three teams will be ranked and will share the purse in the following manner: $7.5 million to the winner and $2.5 million to the second place team if two teams are successful, or $7 million, $2 million and $1 million if three teams are successful.

Actual competition events will take place twice a year with all eligible teams given the opportunity to make an attempt, starting at precisely the same time as the other teams. The final deadline for winning the prize is prior to 12:01 AM Pacific Standard Time on October 4, 2013.

The complete official guidelines can be found here.

The complete official registration form can be found here

Registered Teams

VisiGen Biotechnologies, Inc. is developing a sequencing platform that will enable comprehensive genome analysis. VisiGen scientists have engineered polymerase and nucleotides to act together as direct molecular sensors of DNA sequence information. Cutting-edge technologies, including single-molecule detection, fluorescent molecule chemistry, computational biochemistry, and biomolecule engineering, are combined to create this revolutionary platform. During nucleotide incorporation energy transfers from the donor fluorophore within the polymerase to the acceptor fluorophore attached to the gamma-phosphate of the nucleotide, stimulating the emission of a base-type-specific signature. Because the acceptor fluorophore is naturally removed during nucleotide incorporation, this strategy enables real-time sequence determination. The technology is scalable: these nanosequencing machines will be monitored in massively parallel arrays to produce a sequencing platform that will be capable of collecting sequence data at rates approaching 1 million bases per second. VisiGen Biotechnologies, Inc.

454 Life Sciences Corporation has developed and is commercializing advanced proprietary technologies for sequencing DNA. The Company, headquartered in Branford, CT, provides a substantially faster, cheaper, simpler and more comprehensive solution for sequencing DNA. When compared with the prevalent sequencing technology, known as Sanger sequencing, the current version of 454 Sequencing™ allows 454’s customers to achieve 60 times greater throughput when sequencing DNA at a significantly reduced cost that also avoids the significant infrastructure and capital investment required by Sanger sequencing to effect high-throughput and reasonable sample preparation time. The combination of increased throughput, shortened sample preparation and overall ease of use of the system reduces the time to sequence a typical bacteria from a month with conventional sequencing to three days with the 454 Sequencing System.

454 Sequencing is commercially available at the 454 Sequencing Center, which offers sequencing services to clients world-wide whereby samples are sent to and sequenced by 454 Life Sciences, and from Roche Diagnostics, the exclusive world-wide distributor of the Genome Sequencer 20™ System and reagents. 454 Life Sciences is a majority-owned subsidiary of CuraGen Corporation (NASDAQ: CRGN).454 Life Sciences

Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME) provides an innovative environment to host the scientific and technological research of a small group of selected computational, molecular and life scientists, who can combine physical and organic chemistry, molecular and structural biology, systems biology, cell biology, organismic biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, paleontology, geology, astrobiology and planetary science to create a vertically integrated science for the current century with the opportunity to transfer technology from basic research to meet opportunities in commerce and medicine.Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME)

Reveo, Inc. is focused on the development of new frontiers in science and technology. It was founded by Dr. Sadeg Faris, an inventor with a successful track record of taking new technologies to the marketplace. He established Reveo with the mission to invent the frontiers of science and technology and turn them into products for the benefit of humanity. Since commencing operations in 1991, Reveo has successfully built R&D and management infrastructure composed of a team of talented scientists, engineers, and business leaders. Reveo has developed a strategy, called the Edison Technology Portfolio (ETP) Strategy, to spin out subsidiaries that focus exclusively on particular technology applications and bring products to the marketplace. To date five independent companies have been spun out of Reveo's ETP model: VRex (stereoscopic imaging) eVionyx (fuel cells and batteries), Chelix (cholesteric liquid crystals), PetaComm (optical communication components) and ReVase (ultra-fast DNA sequencing). The mission of ReVase is to develop the fundamental enabling technologies leading to an ultra-fast ultra-compact direct all-electronic DNA sequencing instrument. This instrument will have the potential to simultaneously sequence the genome, epigenome and protein genome directly using solid-state based components that are unique to ReVase. Reveo, Inc.

Personal Genome X-team is headed by renowned Harvard Medical School genetics professor George Church and is an outgrowth of the privately-funded Personal Genome Project (PGP). The goals of the PGP are to bring down costs, to educate diverse potential volunteers and families world-wide, to permit careful correlation of genetic and environmental variations with many traits simultaneously. PGx is doing this in a new open-access model for hardware, software, wetware, and medical genetics data. Personal Genome X-team

Articles & News

• X marks the spotlight for elusive benefactor. Retrieved October 11, 2006.
• Genes of the Rich and Famous - Forbes.com. Retrieved April 1, 2007.
• The X PRIZE Foundation Announces First International Competitor for Genome Sequencing Prize - Marketwire.com. Retrieved October 10, 2007.
• They Feel The Need For DNA Speed - courant.com. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
• Billionaire Science Projects - Forbes.comRetrieved October 17, 2007.
• X games for scientists offers $10m top prize. Retrieved December 4, 2007.