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About Affymetrix
企業のミッション
遺伝子解析のパイオニアであるアフィメトリクスは、1980年代後半に、大量の遺伝子を同時に解析することができる最初のDNAマイクロアレイの販売を開始いたしました。以来アフィメトリクスは科学技術革新の先頭を走り続けています。世界中の研究者がアフィメトリクスのテクノロジーを利用して、遺伝子が疾患において果たす役割、治療薬の有効性と安全性、そしてヒトの健康に影響するその他多くの因子に関する研究に成果をあげております。アフィメトリクスのテクノロジーは様々な革新的発見をもたらし、不妊、HIV、パーキンソン病、糖尿病、マラリア、癌といった疾患、その他多くの問題に関する科学界・医学界の研究を支えております。我々のミッションは、遺伝情報の社会貢献に革命を起こすことです。
当社は現在も、製品のポートフォリオの拡大、利便性のより高い遺伝子関連製品の開発、ならびに次世代テクノロジーの導入を通して遺伝子解析分野における当社の存在意義を高め続けています。
アフィメトリクスはこれまで、今日の遺伝子解析市場の形成に大きく貢献してまいりましたが、今後もさらにゲノム革命の推進に取り組み続け、あらゆる人が自らのDNAを理解することにより恩恵を受けられるよう努力してまいります。
Stephen P.A. Fodor, Ph.D.
Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Fodor and colleagues were the first to develop and describe microarray technologies and combinatorial chemistry synthesis. He spearheaded the development of Affymetrix' groundbreaking chip technology in 1989 at the Affymax Research Institute. In 1993, he co-founded Affymetrix to commercialize the high-density arrays. Together with the techniques Dr. Fodor and his group developed to read these arrays, these technologies have played an important role in basic and clinical research, discovery and mapping of the human genome and other commercial applications. Dr. Fodor has received numerous honors and awards. In 1992, Dr. Fodor and colleagues were recognized by the AAAS by receiving the Newcomb-Cleveland Award for an outstanding paper published in Science. He also received the Intellectual Property Owner's Distinguished Inventor of the Year Award, The Economist Innovation Award for Nanotechnology and the Association for Laboratory Automation Achievement Award. He serves on the Board of Directors for Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., in addition to being the Chairman of the Board for Perlegen, Inc. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institute of Washington. Read Dr. Fodor's extended biography.
Kevin King
President
Mr. King brings more than 25 years of industry experience to his current position of President. He is responsible for developing and implementing the company's long-term growth strategy and maintaining its leading position in the genetic analysis market. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Thomson Healthcare, the $500-million healthcare and pharmaceutical information services division of Thomson Corporation. Mr. King also held senior executive positions at General Electric Healthcare, including Vice President and General Manager, Global Clinical Systems. He also brings more than 14 years experience from Hewlett-Packard. Mr. King received his masters of business administration from New Hampshire College.
John C. Batty
Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Batty brings more than 25 years of corporate finance, strategic planning and management experience to Affymetrix. Prior to his appointment at Affymetrix, Mr. Batty served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Credence Systems, a leading provider of test solutions for the worldwide semiconductor industry. Prior to Credence, Mr. Batty served as the Chief Operating Officer of Network Equipment Technologies, a global provider of networking technology platforms. Mr. Batty received a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of New Hampshire and a masters of business administration degree from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business.
Corporate History
First Microarray Prototype
Affymetrix' GeneChip® technology was invented in the late 1980's by a team of scientists led by Stephen P.A. Fodor, Ph.D. The theory behind their work was revolutionary - a notion that semiconductor manufacturing techniques could be united with advances in combinatorial chemistry to build vast amounts of biological data on a small glass chip. This technology became the basis of a new company, Affymetrix, formed as a division of Affymax, N.V. in 1991. Affymetrix began operating independently in 1992. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the Company completed its initial public offering in June 1996.
The Company commenced commercial sales of the GeneChip® system for research use in 1994, and currently sells its products directly to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrichemical, diagnostic and consumer products companies, as well as academic, government, and other non-profit research institutes.
Corporate Overview
Affymetrix is a pioneer in creating breakthrough tools that are driving the genomic revolution. By applying the principles of semiconductor technology to the life sciences, Affymetrix develops and commercializes systems that enable scientists to improve quality of life.
The Company's customers include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agrichemical, diagnostics, and consumer products companies, as well as, academic, government, and other non-profit research institutes. Affymetrix offers an expanding portfolio of integrated products and services, including its integrated GeneChip® platform, to address growing markets focused on understanding the relationship between genes and human health. Affymetrix has about 1,100 employees worldwide.
Acquisitions
USB Corporation
Affymetrix acquired USB Corporation, a privately held Cleveland, Ohio-based company that provides an extensive line of molecular biology and biochemical reagent products, in December 2007.
ParAllele BioScience Inc.
Affymetrix acquired ParAllele BioScience, a privately held provider of highly-scalable technology for comprehensive genetic studies, in October 2005.
Neomorphic, Inc.
Affymetrix acquired Neomorphic, a privately held computational genomics company, in October 2000.
Genetic MicroSystems, Inc.
Affymetrix acquired Genetic MicroSystems, a privately held Massachusetts instrumentation company specializing in DNA array technology, in February 2000.
Patents
Affymetrix has a variety of U.S. patents issued. To see a current list, please visit the Affymetrix Licensing Program page.