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CRISPR Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical and synthetic biology company using genetic engineering to create medical therapies that is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and was founded in 2013 by Chad Cowan, Craig Mello, Daniel Anderson, Emmanuelle Charpentier, Matthew Porteus, Rodger Novak, and Shaun Foy.
CRISPR Therapeutics is developing medicine for serious diseases using the CRISPR-Cas9 platform that co-founder Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna co-developed and published together in Science in 2012 . Charpentier and Doudna were awarded the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Charpentier is one of the co-founders and is an advisor to CRISPR Therapeutics which was initially called Inception Genomics AG.
CRISPR Therapeutics’ lead product candidate, CTX001, targets sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. Cells are harvested from a patient, treated ex vivo with the CRISPR-Cas9-based therapeutic, and returned to the patient. A clinical trial for CTX001 began in December 2017. Other therapeutic developments include CTX101 and other CAR-T therapies to target cancer. CAR-T therapies are chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies which are immune cells engineered to find and destroy cancer cells. Hemoglobinopathies and regenerative medicine are other areas they are working in.
CRISPR Therapeutics began separate collaborations with Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Bayer in 2015. The joint venture with Bayer has been named Casebia Therapeutics and focuses of blood disorders, blindness and congenital heart disease.
On April 20, 2015 CRISPR Therapeutics completed their series A funding round with $35 million in funding from SR One (lead investor), Celgene (lead investor), New Enterprise Associates, Versant Ventures, and Abingworth.
On June 24, 2016 CRISPR Therapeutics completed their series B funding round with $140 million in funding from New Leaf Venture Partners (lead investor), Franklin Templeton Investments (lead investor), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (lead investor), Bayer Global Investments (lead investor), Wellington Capital Management, Frank Templeton Investments, and Clough Capital Partners.
