Formerly doing business as Arris Pharmceuticals and as Akkadix Corporation. Axys Pharmaecuticals was formed when Arris joined with Sequana Therapeutics in January 98. Functioning as a edicinal and structural chemistry company Axys was then itself acquired by Applera's Celera Genomics. The original firm was a genomics company focused on discovery, design, and development of therapeutic small molecules that used industrial-scale gene finding technologies, advanced biology and bioinformatics to uncover the genetic cause of common human diseases. With gene discovery programs in asthma, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, schizophrenia, manic depression, prostate cancer and other important disease areas, Sequana is well-positioned to find disease-causing genes, determine their biological function, and translate gene discoveries into novel diagnostic and therapeutic products.