Dr Giedrius Gasiūnas, CEO and Co-Founder of Caszyme, describes the company’s research into engineered CRISPR-Cas12l nuclease Asp2Cas12l M82, a potential new tool for genome editing and the development of gene therapies. CRISPR has become one of the most widely used tools for gene editing across research and… Read More
CasZyme and Cirena have signed an agreement to collaborate on optimising the editing efficiency of CasZyme’s Cas12l CRISPR nuclease in human-relevant applications using Cirena’s synthetic 150-170nt guide RNAs. If successful, the work could improve editing efficiency of any resultant T-cell therapies (like CAR-T treatments), as well as… Read More
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, King’s College London and Complutense University of Madrid have shown that γδ T cells use adaptive immune receptors to drive rapid, innate-like responses to tissue stress, inflammation and cancer. Researchers have long divided the immune system into two broad arms: innate… Read More
Dr Joe Renny, Head of Corporate Development, and Dr Simon Tyler, Chief Commercial Officer, CatSci, discuss the last 15 years of drug development, and what comes next. The American Cancer Society’s 2026 statistics tell a story that should be on the wall of every drug developer. Five-year survival for chronic… Read More
An engineered CRISPR-Cas12l nuclease could spark renewed interest in the CRISPR approach, Caszyme says. The gene editing company published research in The CRISPR Journal detailing the performance characteristics of Asp2Cas12l M82, denoted as M82. The publication suggests M82 could be a compelling new tool for… Read More
CRISPR Therapeutics has shared positive Phase I data from an ongoing clinical trial evaluating CTX310, an investigational, in vivo CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing therapy targeting ANGPTL3. A single-course treatment with CTX310 produced dose-dependent, durable reductions in circulating ANGPTL3 with a mean reduction from baseline of -73% (maximum… Read More
The most popular method of genetic editing, CRISPR, might not be the safest approach to treat incurable diseases, a new study has highlighted. The study, published by the University of California San Diego and Yale University, suggests small nuclear RNA base editing could be a safer approach… Read More
Registration is now open for the DDW Turning Science into Business Symposium. It will take place at the Francis Crick Institute in London on 4 November 2025. Register here for tickets. The half day event boasts a stellar line up… Read More
A team at Standford have created CRISPR-GPT, a large language model (LLM) agent system to automate and enhance CRISPR-based gene-editing design and data analysis. CRISPR-GPT leverages the reasoning capabilities of LLMs for complex task decomposition, decision-making and interactive human–artificial intelligence (AI) collaboration. The system incorporates… Read More
A landmark study from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Penn Medicine has showcased the power of a customised gene editing therapy to treat a patient with a rare metabolic disease. A child diagnosed with rare genetic disorder severe carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency was… Read More
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have completed a first-in-human clinical trial testing a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique to help the immune system fight advanced gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. The results, published in Lancet Oncology, show encouraging signs of safety and potential… Read More
Synthego, a supplier of CRISPR solutions, has entered into a purchase agreement with Perceptive Advisors to acquire all the assets of the company on a going-concern basis. To facilitate the sale, the company has voluntarily initiated a Chapter 11 proceeding in the United States Bankruptcy Court of… Read More
This is the latest episode of the free DDW narrated podcast, titled “An overview on the impact of synthetic biology”, which covers two articles written for DDW Volume 24 – Issue 3, Summer 2023. They are called: “Synthetic biology: Impacting drug discovery” and “Synthetic biology: Innovating in drug… Read More
This is the latest episode of the free DDW narrated podcast, titled “Innovation enabled by new drug discovery technologies”, which covers two articles written for DDW Volume 24 – Issue 3, Summer 2023. They are called: “CRISPR breakthroughs: New solutions for common diseases” and “Re-assessing the risks of… Read More
The European Patent Office (EPO) has granted a new CRISPR/Cas9 patent (EP 4 289 948) to Professor Charpentier, along with The Regents of the University of California and the University of Vienna (collectively known as CVC). The divisional patent includes broad independent claims covering single guide RNAs,… Read More
Scientists have shown for the first time that some of the most persistent cancer cells in glioblastoma rely on transforming growth factor beta-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) for survival and that inhibiting this enzyme leads to the death of the cells. Furthermore, they have demonstrated that it is… Read More
