Not too long ago BP PLC'sVysis Inc. was just one of dozens of struggling genomic start-ups, trying to get innovative products on the market, dismissed by large companies, and working to differentiate itself from look-alike competitors. Intensely convinced of the value of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) as a diagnostic tool, it stuck to its knitting even as competitors working in related areas folded (see "Vysis Preps for Prime Time," IN VIVO, June 2001) [A#2001800130 or abandoned their FISH programs even as it had to scale back its own overly ambitious efforts in non-FISH related programs.
Now, however, Vysis is a poster child for genomics success, one of the few diagnostic start-ups to be profitable and...