Biotech firm envisions eggs that carry medicine

BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Bill MacArthur could feel the pressure of $18 million from a small group of investors and several hundred genetically altered chickens pecking at him. He wasn't really sure if he could deliver for either one.

MacArthur is a hyperkinetic scientist and entrepreneur who is the driving force behind GeneWorks Inc. In a nutshell — make that an eggshell — GeneWorks is on a mission to breed genetically altered chickens whose eggs will carry essential ingredients for pharmaceutical drugs.