genome editing Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Founded in 2011, Caribou Biosciences is a pioneer in the development of CRISPR genome editing technologies, a field honored with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020. Co-founded by Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., one of the Nobel laureates, and CEO Rachel Haurwitz, and two other CRISPR pioneers, the company has raised over $800 million in funding, including significant investments from industry giants like Pfizer. In 2021, the company entered the clinic with their lead program and completed a successful $350 million IPO.

“Today, we’re laser focused on using Caribou’s next generation CRISPR technology, which we call chRDNA technology to advance a pipeline of wholly owned off the shelf CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapies,” said Haurwitz in a recent interview at the JP Morgan Health Care conference.

CRISPR: From lab to clinic in about a decade

Rachel Haurwitz, Ph.D., CEO of Caribou Biosciences

Rachel Haurwitz,…

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As the year draws to a close, it is clear that molecular science and diagnostics is the hottest funding area in the biotech industry. In an analysis of 50 of the best-funded biotechs of 2023 focused on human health, molecular and science and diagnostics startups collectively attracting roughly $945 million, dwarfing the figures in other segments. The next popular two niches, gene therapies and oncology, had average funding levels of approximately $245 million and $170 million, respectively. While AI has received a significant amount of attention this year, biotechs specializing in that field garnered an average funding of only about $66 million. Outside of the life sciences, startups with a broader focus on AI raised a cumulative average of $202.47 million, based on an analysis of close to 1000 companies.

Caris Life Sciences has raised nearly $1.7B to date

In terms of best-funded companies overall,…