Building a biotech in a downturn: 3 lessons from VCs and startup CEOs

BioPharma Dive – Read three takeaways from a panel hosted by BioPharma Dive featuring Scribe Therapeutics CEO Benjamin Oakes.

Deals In Depth: September 2022

In Vivo – In September, Sanofi received non-exclusive rights to use Scribe Therapeutics, Inc.’s proprietary CRISPR genome editing technologies and platform of wholly owned enzymes to create ex vivo natural killer cell therapies for cancer.

Follow the Money

Bio-IT World – The agreement grants Sanofi non-exclusive rights to Scribe’s proprietary CRISPR platform of wholly owned enzymes to create ex vivo NK cell therapies.

Scribe and Sanofi partner to develop cell therapies for cancer

Pharmaceutical Technology – Scribe’s CasX-Editors (XE), a suite of custom engineering genome editing and delivery tools based on new foundations such as the CasX enzyme, will back Sanofi’s developing NK cell therapies pipeline for cancer.

Sanofi ThiNKs Scribe’s CRISPR Approach Can Advance Its NK Cell Therapy Goals

Scrip – Sanofi is turning to gene-editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna and her CRISPR-CasX-based Scribe Therapeutics, Inc. to help it take its next steps in developing potential off-the-shelf cancer therapeutics derived from engineered natural killer (NK) cells.

Scribe, Vertex add to gene therapy’s advance with $1B+ deal, near-term BLA

BioWorld – Venture-backed startup Scribe Therapeutics Inc. landed a $25 million up-front payment and a chance at more than $1 billion in milestones by granting Sanofi SA license to genome-editing technology for multiple oncology targets.

Sanofi’s NK cell toolbox grows with Scribe’s next-gen editor

BioCentury – Scribe Therapeutics Inc. said Tuesday it will grant Sanofi non-exclusive rights to its CasX-Editor technology for multiple undisclosed oncology targets in engineered NK cell therapies.

Natural killers gain more attention with major Franco-US collab

The Pharma Letter – Californian genetic medicine company Scribe Therapeutics has scored a major strategic collaboration with French giant Sanofi.

Sanofi, Scribe Launch Up-to-$1B CRISPR-Based Cancer NK Cell Therapy Collaboration

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News – Sanofi and Scribe Therapeutics will partner to develop CRISPR-based cell therapies to fight cancer, the companies said today, through a collaboration that could generate more than $1 billion for the CRISPR drug developer whose co-founders include Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, PhD, of UC Berkeley.

Sanofi partners with Scribe to gain gene editing tools for cell therapy work

BioPharma Dive – Sanofi will partner with the Californian biotechnology company Scribe Therapeutics in a deal that extends its exploration of new ways to build cancer cell therapies.

Sanofi turns to startup Scribe to CRISPR edit new NK cell therapies for cancer

MedCity News – Sanofi is collaborating with Scribe Therapeutics to use the startup’s CRISPR technology to create cell therapies based on natural killers, a type of immune cell that has cancer-killing capabilities.

Sanofi to utilise Scribe’s CRISPR platform to develop cancer cell therapies

FirstWord Pharma – Sanofi entered into an agreement to use Scribe Therapeutics’ CRISPR genome editing technologies to enable genetic modification of novel natural killer (NK) cell therapies for cancer.

Sanofi and Jennifer Doudna-Founded Scribe Ink $1B CRISPR Cell Therapy Deal

BioSpace – Under the terms of the deal, Sanofi picks up non-exclusive rights to Scribe’s CRISPR platform of wholly owned enzymes.

Sanofi pays Scribe $25M to access CRISPR tools, writing new chapter in its NK cell therapy story

Fierce Biotech – Sanofi has teamed up with Scribe Therapeutics to write the next chapter in its natural killer (NK) cell therapy story, paying $25 million upfront and committing to $1 billion in biobucks for access to a CRISPR platform.

Sanofi turns to a Jennifer Doudna gene editing upstart for next-gen NK cell alliance

Endpoints News – The Paris-based giant’s head of oncology research and its chief of genomic medicine have settled on Scribe Therapeutics’ CasX editing tech for their work on NK cells.

CEO of Doudna spinout: Within five years, genome editors will have a ‘really big impact’ on patients’ lives

Endpoints News – “CRISPR-by-design” is the idea behind Scribe Therapeutics, a company spun out from Jennifer Doudna’s Nobel-winning lab that’s competing in a closely-tracked field of genome editor companies just starting to make their way to the clinic.

Scribe Therapeutics converting an Alameda shipway into a lab

The Real Deal – Scribe Therapeutics, a molecular engineering company, is the latest notable lessee after securing a building at the Research Park at Marina Village in Alameda.

How Jennifer Doudna’s Life Has Changed Since Discovering CRISPR 10 Years Ago

TIME – [Ben Oakes’] team has pioneered a CRISPR system relying on a different enzyme, or DNA-cutting molecule, than the original CRISPR platform, and in animal models of ALS, the system seems to edit the targeted mutations more efficiently and contribute to a longer lifespan for the animals than the original CRISPR platform.

Innovators Under 35 2022

MIT Technology Review – As CEO of Scribe Therapeutics, Benjamin Oakes, 33, is working to optimize novel CRISPR enzymes and ways to package the gene-editing systems to solve those problems.

Scribe Pursues CRISPR Therapies with Expanded Biogen Collaboration

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News – CEO Benjamin Oakes recently discussed the Biogen collaboration, and his company’s progress in developing its genome editing technology, in an exclusive interview with GEN Edge.

Biogen Pursues Another Neuro Target With Scribe

Inside Precision Medicine – Biogen has exercised an option for an additional disease target in gene therapy with Scribe Therapeutics. This is part of the companies’ ongoing research collaboration to develop and commercialize CRISPR-based therapeutics.

Scribe, Biogen expand ALS CRISPR agreement

Pharma Manufacturing – Scribe, headquartered outside of San Francisco, focuses on creating gene therapies using CRISPR technology and custom engineered enzymes. The company’s custom platforms help it to overcome the technological hurdles that other companies in the field face, said Oakes.

Biogen takes another dip into Scribe gene therapy collab with another disease target

Fierce Biotech – Biogen is double-dipping into a 2020 collaboration with Scribe Therapeutics, exercising its option for an additional neurological disease target in gene therapy using the biotech’s CRISPR technology.

Biogen, Scribe to develop additional gene therapy disease target

Seeking Alpha – Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) has exercised an option to develop another gene therapy disease target as part of a collaboration with Scribe Therapeutics.

40 Under 40: Benjamin Oakes, Scribe Therapeutics

San Francisco Business Times – Scribe Therapeutics CEO Benjamin Oakes is honored in the San Francisco Business Times’ 40 Under 40 Class of 2022.

Future of Genetic Medicine w/ Scribe Therapeutics Founders

BIOS Podcast – An interview with Scribe co-founders Ben Oakes and Dave Savage on the future of genetic medicine.

The Science of CRISPR with Dr. Benjamin Oakes

Science in Society Podcast – A chat with Dr. Benjamin L. Oakes on what CRISPR is, how it revolutionized biological research, and how Scribe Therapeutics will take it to its next generation.

CFOs On the Move

CFO – Biotech firm Scribe Therapeutics appointed David Parrot as chief financial officer. Parrot joins the company from Barclays, where he was a managing director responsible for building its West coast life sciences and biotechnology investment banking business.

CRISPR pioneer’s biotech taps ex-Barclays banker as CFO

CFO Dive – Former Barclays executive David Parrot is bringing a number of lessons learned from his more than two-decade career in life sciences investment banking to his new role as CFO of biotech firm Scribe Therapeutics.

Chutes & Ladders

Fierce Biotech – David Parrot is the new CFO of Scribe Therapeutics, a molecular engineering company focused on CRISPR-based meds, after serving as a managing director at investment bank Barclays.

Peer Review

Endpoints News – One of Jennifer Doudna’s CRISPR startups, Alameda, CA-based Scribe Therapeutics, has corralled David Parrot as CFO and George Manning as controller.

BioSpace Movers & Shakers

BioSpace – Life sciences companies continue to bolster their leadership teams as they prepare for the next phase of growth.

Venture Investment in Crispr Gene Editing Spurs Innovation, Hunt for IP

The Wall Street Journal – Scribe Therapeutics Inc., an Alameda, Calif.-based biotech startup also co-founded by Dr. Doudna, is developing custom-engineered enzymes for Crispr-based treatments for neurodegenerative and other diseases. Scribe’s technologies are distinct from earlier approaches, co-founder and CEO Benjamin Oakes said.

Management Tracks

BioCentury – Scribe Therapeutics Inc. hired David Parrot as CFO. Parrot was managing director, head of west coast life science investment banking at Barclays Investment Bank. Scribe is developing custom enzymes and delivery modalities for CRISPR and was co-founded by Jennifer Doudna.

Appointments and advancements

BioWorld – Scribe Therapeutics Inc., of Alameda, Calif., appointed David Parrot chief financial officer and George Manning controller.

Big Pharma is waking up to the booming field of gene editing. Here are the top 18 biotechs to know in 2022 that are poised to grab the drug industry’s attention.

Business Insider – With a busy 2022 ahead for the gene-editing industry, Insider identified the top 18 companies to know that are leading the space.

Novel Gene Editing Systems Come Into Their Own

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News – Scribe scientists hone CasX enzymes so that they acquire characteristics such as enhanced specificity. Oakes describes this as an “engineering first” philosophy, where the desired properties of the system are chosen in advance and intentionally designed, rather than being left to chance or nature.

These gene-editing startups are aiming to solve one of CRISPR’s biggest problems. Here’s how they could upend biotech in 2022.

Business Insider – Scribe’s main enzyme, CasX, is also smaller and more efficient at making edits, Oakes said. This group of companies often searches nature for new enzymes and then tinkers with them in a lab, aiming to make a better editing tool at the end.

California Life Sciences announces 2021 Pantheon Award winners

California Life Sciences – Scribe Therapeutics named Rising Star in the 2021 Pantheon Awards recognizing companies and individuals making significant scientific, business, and community contributions across California.

Biocom Catalyst Awards

Biocom California – Scribe Therapeutics CEO Benjamin Oakes selected as a winner of the 6th annual Catalyst Awards.

Meet the 30 young leaders forging a new future for the healthcare industry in 2021

Business Insider – Scribe CEO Benjamin Oakes is carving out a space in the gene-editing field by developing what he calls a “genetic scalpel.”

Meet the 12 biotechs pioneering cutting-edge cures that stand to upend how we treat diseases and transform pharma

Business Insider – Cofounded by CRISPR discoverer Jennifer Doudna and two former researchers in her University of California lab, Scribe is pursuing its own twist on CRISPR. While the standard gene-editing approach uses an enzyme called Cas9, Scribe is developing a smaller version called CasX, which could allow for more applications of CRISPR.

MedTech Breakthrough Awards: 2021 Winners

MedTech Breakthrough Awards – Scribe Therapeutics wins Best New Technology Solution – Drug Development.

World Changing Ideas Awards 2021: Health Finalists and Honorable Mentions

Fast Company – Medical innovations that save lives, extend longevity, or increase access to care.

Big Money for Gene Editing, Engineering, Structure-Based Drug Design, and Data Management

Bio-IT World – $100M: Series B for Custom Gene Editing. The capital will be used to further develop Scribe’s suite of custom gene editing and delivery technologies, as well as to advance a pipeline of therapeutics for neurodegeneration and additional diseases with high unmet need.

5 Novel Therapies Using Synthetic Biology

Nanalyze – The company has raised a whopping $120 million from the likes of Andreessen Horowitz to build out a suite of CRISPR technologies designed to treat genetic diseases.

Engineering CRISPR with Ben Oakes

a16z Bio Clubhouse – a16z general partners Vineeta Agarwala and Vijay Pande talk to guest Ben Oakes, cofounder, President and CEO of Scribe Therapeutics in a conversation on the power of engineering gene editors, the transition from academia to a startup, and how to select the first indication to target with a novel bio platform.

The 20(+1) under 40: Inside the next generation of biotech leaders

Endpoints News – The annual 20 Under 40 list features CEO Benjamin Oakes and how his dive inside the human mind colors his leadership role at gene editing startup Scribe Therapeutics.

Scribe Therapeutics continues to advance the development of its CRISPR platform and pipeline

PMLiVE – Scribe’s technology platform can create custom CRISPR molecules that are specifically designed for therapeutic use within the body, overcoming the limitation of using existing enzymes that may lead to ‘poor editing outcomes’.

Scribe, Jennifer Doudna’s newest startup, nabs a mega-round and a vocal investor

Endpoints News – The California-based biotech will use that cash to continue developing their engineering platform, while bringing forward a pipeline that includes a Biogen-partnered ALS treatment.

CasX start-up Scribe Therapeutics raises $100 million for CRISPR therapies

Chemical & Engineering News – The start-up is applying protein engineering to create new CasX enzymes for neurodegenerative diseases and more.

Scribe Therapeutics snags $100M for engineered CRISPR tech, pipeline

FierceBiotech – Rather than “shoehorning” enzymes that evolved to work well in bacteria—but not in humans—into treatments for human disease, Scribe is engineering CRISPR molecules from scratch.

A New Approach To Crispr – Scribe Therapeutics Designs Novel Crispr Molecules

Forbes – Instead of relying on wild-type or naturally occurring Crispr molecules such as Cas9, Scribe Therapeutics have built their own, highly-specialized varieties.

Scribe Therapeutics Closes Series B Round With $100M To Target Gene Editing

Crunchbase News – Molecular engineering company Scribe Therapeutics has completed an oversubscribed $100 million round of Series B financing to further develop its “CRISPR by design” platform, as well as advance its pipeline of genetic treatments.

Doudna’s Scribe Rewrites CRISPR Drug Development with $100 Million Series B

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News – Scribe—one of a new wave of gene editing biotech companies—focuses on developing CRISPR-based treatments through its genetic modification platform, designed to build and apply its suite of CRISPR technologies designed for therapeutic use.

Scribe closes $100M series B round for gene editing rewrite

BioWorld – Scribe Therapeutics Inc. raised $100 million in a series B round to continue its engineering-intensive approach to developing CRISPR-based therapies that employ custom-designed CasX enzymes.

Engineering the Future of Genetic Medicine

Technology Networks – Scribe Therapeutics co-founder and CEO Benjamin Oakes sat down for an interview on the company’s next steps in “fulfilling the promise of CRISPR” and how it will navigate some of the challenges associated with developing CRISPR-based therapeutics, including efficacy, scale-up and high costs.

Jennifer Doudna’s Scribe Therapeutics lands a $100M Series B to advance CRISPR technology

San Francisco Business Times – The Alameda-based biotech startup will use the fresh capital to expand its team and advance the company’s specialized approach to gene editing in the hopes of creating new treatments for a host of unmet diseases.

With Rare Speed, Gene Editing Emerges as Biotech’s New Cutting Edge

Barron’s – Gene editing is advancing so quickly that next-generation technologies are already on the heels of Crispr-Cas9.

Top Life Sciences Startups to Watch in 2021

BioSpace – The NextGen Bio Class of 2021 is a stellar group of companies that are already making an enormous impact on the industry now and will continue into the future.

2020 Was the Turning Point for CRISPR

Medium – Future Human – Scribe Therapeutics of Alameda, California, is using yet another form of CRISPR dubbed X-editing. Co-founded by CRISPR pioneer and Nobel winner Jennifer Doudna, PhD, the company will use the new gene-editing tool to develop treatments for neurological diseases.

Engineering the Future of Genetic Medicine

The Scientistt Podcast – Benjamin L. Oakes is the Founder and CEO of Scribe Therapeutics, a company rewriting the story of disease and engineering the future of genetic medicine.

Doudna’s Scribe unveils

Nature Biotechnology – Startup Scribe Therapeutics, spun out of Jennifer Doudna’s lab, emerged from stealth on 6 October with a next-generation CRISPR technology, armed with a $20-million series A round and a collaboration with Biogen.

8 Biocom Member Companies Leveraging CRISPR Technology

Biocom – Another of Doudna’s spin-outs, Scribe Therapeutics, just recently announced their plans to build a platform for CRISPR-based genetic medicine to create therapies for diseases like genetically driven ALS. The company’s tools and mission have the potential to dramatically accelerate CRISPR’s applications into the clinical setting.

Interview with Scribe Therapeutics CEO, Benjamin Oakes

CRISPR Medicine News – California-based gene-editing company Scribe Therapeutics recently unveiled its plans to develop the most advanced platform for breakthrough CRISPR-based genetic medicines.

CRISPR-Based ALS Treatment Being Developed by Scribe and Biogen

Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News – Best known for her pioneering work in the discovery of CRISPR, Jennifer Doudna, PhD, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, doesn’t stop or, it seems, even slow down. As of yesterday morning, Doudna can add “accept Nobel Prize” to her to-do list as she, along with Emmanuelle Charpentier, PhD, was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Scribe, Biogen Partner to Develop Gene Therapy for ALS, Other Neurological Diseases

ALS News Today – Founded by the scientists who originally invented CRISPR, Scribe has developed novel, custom-CRISPR tools, using a technology called X-Editing. This advanced gene-editing platform has greater editing activity and higher specificity, meaning that it can edit the target gene with greater precision than other CRISPR tools currently available.

Biogen teams up with gene-editing startup Scribe on ALS programme

pharmaphorum – Scribe Therapeutics, a start-up focusing on gene-editing using CRISPR/Cas9, has burst onto the biotech scene with a $415 million deal with Biogen.

Doudna Spin Out Scribe, Partners with Biogen on CRISPR-Based Treatment for ALS

Clinical OMICs – This week, another Doudna lab spin out, Scribe Therapeutics, came out of stealth mode to announce their plans to build a platform for CRISPR-based genetic medicine with news of a new Biogen collaboration to create therapeutics for genetically-driven ALS.

Scribe Therapeutics, Biogen collaborate to develop CRISPR-based genetic medicines

Pharmaceutical Business Review – Molecular engineering company Scribe Therapeutics has entered into a research collaboration with Biogen for the development of CRISPR-based genetic medicines for neurological diseases.

Scribe Therapeutics emerges with $20M, Biogen pact to clear CRISPR hurdles

FierceBiotech – CRISPR evolved in bacteria as a form of “genetic vandalism,” as George Church, Ph.D., puts it, to fend off pathogens. That means it works very well in bacteria but runs into various obstacles when researchers try to put it to work in humans. Jennifer Doudna’s latest CRISPR company plans to surmount those hurdles with an entirely new CRISPR platform that does not rely on molecules found in nature.

Starting with Biogen deal in ALS, Scribe planning a new chapter in CRISPR story

BioWorld – Scribe Therapeutics Inc., another CRISPR-based genome editing firm out of the Jennifer Doudna stable, launched with $20 million in series A funding and a deal with Biogen Inc. in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which brings in another $15 million up front and up to $400 million in development and commercial milestones.

Scribe: engineering CRISPR’s next generation

CRISPR startup Scribe Therapeutics lands big Biogen deal

San Francisco Business Times – Hoping to take the CRISPR genome-editing tool to the next level of drug development, startup Scribe Therapeutics Inc. said Tuesday that it landed a potential $400 million neurodegenerative disease deal with Biogen Inc.

Scribe Therapeutics Sets Out to Write CRISPR Gene Editing’s Next Chapter

Xconomy – The first generation of CRISPR-based therapies showed how the technology can edit DNA, making genetic fixes to unwanted mutations. But those treatments use the CRISPR system as scientists found it in nature, which means it still has limitations when applied to humans, says Benjamin Oakes, CEO of Scribe Therapeutics.

Scribe Therapeutics launches to explore next-generation CRISPR technology

Chemical & Engineering News – Scribe Therapeutics, a biotech firm focused on developing next-generation gene-editing technology, has raised $20 million in its first major round of financing, backed by Andreessen Horowitz. The firm separately unveiled a deal with Biogen to develop CRISPR-based treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The latest Jennifer Doudna startup launches with a Biogen partnership and eyes on big targets few CRISPR companies have chased

Endpoints News – Three years ago, Jennifer Doudna gathered with two postdocs and a fellow biochemist around a circular table on the second floor of UC Berkeley’s energy biosciences building, where they tried to answer a question: What, precisely, would the best gene editor look like?

Doudna Inc.: How Cal scientist created a biotech startup engine

San Francisco Business Times – Jennifer Doudna’s string of companies, including an Alameda startup, have covered everything from agriculture to a Covid diagnostic to potential drugs.

Biogen, gene-editing startup Scribe to develop therapies for Lou Gehrig’s disease

Reuters – U.S. drugmaker Biogen Inc and gene-editing startup Scribe Therapeutics Inc will jointly develop therapies for treating underlying genetic causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurological disorder better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Scribe Therapeutics launches a platform for engineering CRISPR-based therapeutics

TechCrunch – A new company called Scribe Therapeutics founded by two former members of CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna’s UC Berkely genetics lab (alongside Doudna herself) launched on Tuesday, debuting a platform designed specifically to help develop and engineer new therapeutics based on CRISPR for addressing specific diseases, with permanent treatments in patients.

Jennifer Doudna’s New Gene Editing Company Launches With A $20 Million Round To Develop Genetic Medicines

Forbes – What if you had a tool to change the genetic instructions that cause disease? That’s what San Francisco-based Scribe Therapeutics hopes to do with its next-generation platform for gene editing.

C&EN’s Year in Pharma 2019

Chemical & Engineering News – Jennifer Doudna’s lab at the University of California, Berkeley, published a detailed study on a genetically and structurally distinct CRISPR enzyme called CasX, which makes staggered breaks during its cutting of the DNA double helix.

CRISPR enzyme from groundwater bacteria shows unusual properties

Chemical & Engineering News – CasX, first described in 2016, is smaller than its more famous cousins, Cas9 and Cas12a. This makes it a potentially better candidate for medicinal use as the field turns to viruses to try to get CRISPR systems into the human body.

New Protein Could Deliver Next Gene-Editing Tool

Drug Discovery & Development – While CRISPR Cas9 remains a mainstay in the genomics world, researchers have now found a much smaller protein called CasX that could be used for gene editing.

CRISPR-CasX could be the next small gene-editing enzyme

New Atlas – In new tests, the researchers have found that it is effective at editing the human genome, as well as that of E. coli.

Watch Out CRISPR-Cas9! There’s a New and Smaller Gene Editor

Interesting Engineering – New research is now revealing CasX is a viable alternative to Cas9. The gene editor was sourced from a microbe database found in groundwater and sediment, and it works in both bacteria and human cells.

Exciting new CRISPR-CasX variant could be ‘Swiss army knife’ for genetics

Silicon Republic – CRISPR-Cas9 has revolutionised gene editing, but a new variant of the technology may be far superior.

Tiny New CRISPR Protein Could Make Human Gene-Hacking Less Risky

Futurism – Researchers from UC Berkeley have discovered that CasX is capable of editing human cells, and it doesn’t carry with it some of the issues involved in Cas9 editing — potentially putting us one step closer to safely gene-editing humans.