A genomics research venture being launched in Rockville by Perkin-Elmer Corp. and J. Craig Venter will be named Celera Genomics Corp., Perkin-Elmer said yesterday.

The company's name was derived from the word celerity, which means swiftness.

Perkin-Elmer also named a panel of scientists and genetics experts to a six-member advisory board for Celera yesterday. They include a Nobel laureate, Dr. Richard J. Roberts, who will chair the board. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine in 1993.

Also on the panel are Dr. Victor A. McKusick, professor of medical genetics at the Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Arthur L. Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Venter, a Rockville-based pioneer in gene research, and Perkin-Elmer, one of the largest makers of genetic analysis equipment, announced in May plans to launch the company this fall.

They hope to decode the entire human genome in three years, then package and sell the database to drug companies and others seeking to develop drugs, tests and other medical treatments.

Pub Date: 8/06/98