Celera Genomics Corp. / CRA

About Celera Genomics Corp.

45 W. Gude Dr., Rockville, Md. 20850
www.celera.com | 240-453-3000 | Founded: 1998

Industry: Biotechnology | Category: Top 100 Companies

In 2006, Celera remade itself and not for the first time: The company, whose name is still synonymous with its 1990s effort to map the human genome, which was a scientific success but a commercial loser, said in January that it was scrapping its second iteration as a biotech developer of drugs. Drug development entailed spending large amounts of money on research while generating little revenue. The company now plans to devote itself to developing diagnostic tests that scan patients for a predisposition to ailments such as breast cancer and heart disease.
In April, the company sold some of its cancer drug candidates to Pharmacyclics for $2 million in cash and stock. In June, it sold a drug regimen aimed at treating autoimmune diseases to Schering for $5 million in cash. Under the terms of the deals, the company could receive payments worth tens of millions of dollars more if the regimens prove successful.
The National Institutes of Health awarded a $900,000 grant to the company in August to develop and commercialize a test for bird flu.
Celera maintains a strategic alliance with Abbott Laboratories for the development and commercialization of diagnostic tests, and it is also developing new products outside this alliance.

Chief medical officer: Sam Broder

2007 Financial Data

Total employees: 300 | Local employees: 100