Paths to commercialization are uncertain in nutrigenomics, an emerging science which seeks to identify gene-food interactions that differ among subpopulations and between individuals and to personalize diets to prevent disease.

These days, consumers reach for calcium-fortified orange juice to keep bones healthy, whole-grain Cheerios that reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, and bags of walnuts that advertise Omega 3, for heart health. The founders of WellGen believe the time is right to push the frontier of food science into medicine. With a patent from Rutgers University, WellGen will screen food substances against genes implicated in diseases.

The financial markets are having a tough time understanding the combination of biotech companies Enzon and NPS Pharmaceuticals, perhaps because it doesn't follow the typical rationale for intra-biotech mergers. That is, it doesn't join competitors working with similar technologies or disease states. Rather, the companies have little overlap, an attraction they argue will result in a balanced, somewhat synergistic product portfolio. Still, they face the challenge of convincing divergent investor groups--earnings-oriented shareholders of Enzon and growth-chasing investors in NPS--that the resulting new company wo'n't be a hodge-podge of diverse technologies.