$200k for a better polymerase was definitely way too low a decade ago, when PacBio had an enzymology group with a multi-million $ budget running crystallography at SLAC to build a better polymerase.
On the other hand, $200k might be enough today if someone finds a way to apply AlphaFold and friends to this problem.
On the other other hand, I'm not convinced a better polymerase will solve their problems. Photobleaching might be their biggest problem, and I don't know that the polymerase itself can do much to protect against that.
On the other hand, $200k might be enough today if someone finds a way to apply AlphaFold and friends to this problem.
On the other other hand, I'm not convinced a better polymerase will solve their problems. Photobleaching might be their biggest problem, and I don't know that the polymerase itself can do much to protect against that.