Berkeley Professor Jennifer Doudna, who shared the Nobel Prize for developing the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, founded the Innovative Genomics Institute in 2015 to advance new applications of the revolutionary technology. Since then, IGI-affiliated researchers have spawned more than 30 startups. Here are just six of them.
Amber Bio
Basem Al-Shayeb, Ph.D. ’22, a graduate of the Banfield and Doudna Labs, cofounded Amber Bio in 2021 to address a limit of the gene-editing field: The current paradigm of genetic medicine relies on developing independent therapies for each separate mutation, the company says. Amber Bio’s RNA-writing platform will enable thousands of mutations to be edited simultaneously. Importantly, the company adds, these RNA-based edits will be reversible.
Editpep
The goal of Editpep, per the company’s website, is straightforward: “To bring life-changing genome-editing therapies to patients with devastating neurological diseases.” They will do so by safely delivering CRISPR straight into the brain. Ross Wilson, IGI’s director of therapeutic delivery and an assistant adjunct professor at Berkeley, cofounded the company in 2023.
Sift Biosciences
Banfield Lab graduate Yue Clare Lou ’18, Ph.D. ’23, cofounded Sift Biosciences, which is searching for protein fragments that look similar to viruses or bacteria already familiar to the immune system. The idea is to use this molecular mimicry to trick the immune system into attacking cancerous tumors it wouldn’t normally recognize as a threat, training the body to fight them.
KuriBio
KuriBio is developing nanoparticles to detect cancer earlier and kill it quicker. IGI fellow Judee Sharon ’14 cofounded the company in 2023. Though KuriBio is initially focusing on B-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, Sharon hopes to expand the company’s targeted nanoparticle system to deliver different types of therapies precisely.
Fortiphyte
Former IGI fellow Alex Schultink, Ph.D. ’13, started Fortiphyte to produce disease-resistant crops that will require less chemical management, thus improving sustainability and safety. Its researchers recently found a gene that could create a soybean variety that’s impervious to the ravages of Asian soybean rust. They predict that, if successful, the newly resistant soybean could add $1 billion in annual value to the market.
Verinomics
Cofounded by Brian Staskawicz, Ph.D. ’80, a Berkeley professor emeritus and director of sustainable agriculture at IGI, Verinomics is working on creating stronger and faster-growing crops. Recently, the company developed a self-fertile almond, reducing reliance on the bees that normally pollinate almond trees, which could dramatically increase crop yields.
