It is an area where Nycomed Amersham has been a world leader, providing the technology needed to sequence the human genome.”In 1990, using our materials, you could get a few parts of the genetic alphabet in a day. We now have machines that will deliver millions of parts of the alphabet a day. That speeding up of the sequencing has been fundamental to the cracking of the genome. As the work has progressed we have had to look for the tiny spelling changes in the genome that give rise to individual characteristics, your eye colour, the shape of your nose, whether you are predisposed to arthritis, those kinds of things,” says Castell.At the heart of this new science is genetic material called single nucleotide polymorphisms, more commonly known as Snips. These Snips, 300,000 of them, will enable new families of designer drugs to be matched to the DNA of the patient. Genetic differences are important because they mean that bodies react differently to the chemicals in the drugs.

Some people will metabolise the drug much faster, while others will produce enzymes and proteins that won’t allow the drug to work. A few will react to the alien chemicals in such a hostile way that the patient dies.”What we believe will occur, because of our understanding about the relationship between genes and how the body works, is that through the process of pharmogenomics, we will be able to match drugs with people who will have the right response. Drugs will be targeted at the individual as against the average person getting the average therapy. Not only will this targeting be beneficial to the patients, it is also much more cost effective.”Nycomed Amersham is about to float its life sciences division on NASDAQ. Ten per cent will be floated leaving Nycomed Amersham with 45 per cent, and Pharmacia, Nycomed’s partner in its life sciences business, with 45 per cent.

The floating of APBiotech, as the company will be known, valued somewhere between $4m and $6m, depending on the ebb and flow of NASDAQ, will mean an injection of cash Nycomed Amersham will retain control. Keeping the float at 10 per cent means that Nycomed does not lose the ability to consolidate APBiotech results with its own.”We felt we needed to make sure we were provided with all the tools of capitalism, including equity, to ensure we stayed as a leader in this market place. It has become a much more competitive field than where we were in the 90s when we were one of the few players providing the technology. We retain control.”For Castell, who was knighted in June for services to the life sciences industry, the float is another base camp on what he calls the great adventure that began for him when he was head hunted to run Amersham.