454 Corp - James Golden, a biotech executive who once planned a career in the space program, sometimes speaks in aerospace terms when discussing the life sciences.; "If you were comparing the future of genome science to that of the space program, the development of the genome sciences is where the V-2 rocket was in the mid-1940s. Maybe Sputnik, at the most," he said.; "The exciting work in genomics is just starting, and we feel our company will be making a large contribution."; Golden is manager of business development for 454 Corp., a young life sciences operation in Branford, Conn.; It is a spinoff of CuraGen Corp. of New Haven, and 454 typifies young dynamic companies that are forming to pursue advances in human-genome sequencing.; Since its establishment several years ago, 454 raised $40 million in its first round of financing from investors including CuraGen, Soros Fund Management LLC, Cooper Hill Partners LLC and private investors.; The company ramped up to 80 employees following the funding.; Golden was recently a panelist at a Springfield event dubbed "Business Opportunities in the Life Sciences."; He said that 454 is developing technologies for rapidly and comprehensively analyzing entire genomes.; The technology is expected to have applications in industrial engineering, agriculture, animal health, and human health care, including drug, discovery, development and disease diagnosis.; Company officials say they are introducing "revolutionary" technology that shortens the time and cost of current genome sequencing. (Some life sciences professionals predict that a person's genome someday will be analyzed cheaply and quickly. That would enable a person to determine illnesses to which she might be vulnerable, but right now the cost to analyze one individual's gene work is prohibitive.); The company is optimistic about the future, but Golden is not embracing the mythic "$1,000 genome."; Some futurists suggest that the cost will be $1,000 within the next several years. Others, including officials of U. S. Genomics in Woburn, say that a personal genome sequencing will be done in a matter of hours within three to four years.; Golden is not quite that optimistic.; "In the future I see the $100,000 genome," he said. "There has been a lot of hype around the business in recent years, and I don't think $1,000 is doable in the near future."; Golden is an example of an executive gravitating to life sciences after starting in another field.; He earned an undergraduate degree at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., then earned an M. S. in computer science from the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, Tenn. Much of his graduate work was paid for by NASA.; He had planned a career with the space program. But as he saw the federal funding fade, he returned to school and received a Ph. D. in mechanical engineering from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.; Golden's work at Vanderbilt included the design and optimization of DNA sequencing devices. He worked with several bioinformatics companies in the late '90s before coming to 454.; "It's a classic story of how I got interested in aerospace," Golden recalled. "I was about 6, staying with grandparents in Florida, and we went outside to see Apollo 11 lift off. I was determined to be involved in space when I grew up, which I did.; "But then the money ran out. I'm really enjoying life sciences, and think that genomics is an exciting field with a very large future."
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