Timelines: 1993
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Affymetrix
DNA microarrays
Dr. Stephen Fodor displays a graph of coded messages emitted by dark regions of the human genome
Stephen P.A. Fodor establishes Affymetrix, a leading manufacturer of DNA microarrays and related equipment. Affymetrix is spun out of from Affymax N.V. in order to focus on gene chip technology. From 1992 to 1995, Fodor and his colleagues at Affymax and Affymetrix publish several groundbreaking articles describing methods of high-throughput, parallel DNA sequencing and analysis. By 1995, Affymetrix is advertising its semiconductor-based microarrays as ‘standardized tools’ – in contrast to homemade arrays produced in individual laboratories. The company’s ‘Gene Chips’ become recognized industry benchmarks due to their superior reliability and consistency in performance. Affymetrix captures a lion’s share of the market for gene expression profiling instrumentation.
