There has long been interest in sequencing DNA, but until a few
years ago there was not much to say about the competitive
dynamics of the market for equipment used to perform that
sequencing. Mid-decade, the market declined somewhat as most of
the potential customers had already invested in high-end
sequencers. That changed in 2006 when new technology in the form
of second-generation systems reinvigorated competition. Driving
near-term sales of sequencers now is the arrival of third-
generation systems, a multiplication of sequenced genomes, and
government funding from the stimulus bill. In the long-term, as
yet untapped clinical markets also presage a bright future for
these systems. The scientific usefulness of DNA sequencing
continues to be proven, and the number of sequenced and
catalogued genomes has grown more than five times from where it
was at the middle of the decade. Some of these sequencing
projects currently under way are quite ambitious and aim to
sequence thousands of individuals, tumors, or oth