<unk>  is a biotechnology company based in Branford, Connecticut specializing in high-throughput DNA sequencing using a novel massively parallel sequencing-by-synthesis approach. <unk>  has experienced rapid growth since its partnership with Roche Diagnostics and release of its GS20 sequencing machine in 2005 and GS FLX machine in 2007.  As of 2005, the majority of<unk> 's revenue came from sales of sequencing machines ($5.4 million), not in-house sequencing projects ($2.3 million). <unk>  was founded by Jonathan Rothberg, and the underlying technology is based on Pyrosequencing and was conceived while he was on paternity leave and wanted a way to sequence the genome of his new born son who had been placed in new born intensive care. For their invention, Dr. Rothberg and<unk>  were awarded the Wall Street Journal's Gold Medal for Innovation in 2005.
In November 2006, Dr. Rothberg, Michael Egholm, and colleagues at<unk>  published in Nature (Cover Article) the first million base pairs of the Neanderthal Genome with Svante Paabo, and Initiated the Neanderthal Genome Project to complete the sequence of the Neanderthal Genome by 2009.
In late March, 2007, Roche Diagnostics announced an agreement to purchase<unk>  for US$154.9 million.  It will remain a separate business unit, however.
In May 2007, Project "Jim", a project initiated by Dr. Rothberg and<unk>  to determine the first sequence of an individual was completed. The results of the project, the complete genome sequence of James Dewey Watson, was handed to Dr. Watson at a ceremony taking place at Baylor College of Medicine.
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