In the search for an ARPA-H director, the White House is zeroing in on DARPA veterans
Francis Collins is making progress in finding a founding director for ARPA-H, and he’s turned to a natural proving ground for candidates: DARPA’s biotech office.
CRISPR debuted 10 years ago, in a paper hardly anyone noticed. Jennifer Doudna reflects on the DNA scissors’ first decade
"Only in retrospect did it become clear to people who weren’t specialists what an important moment that was," Doudna said of the CRISPR paper's publication.
Four neuroscientists win Kavli Prize for discovering genes behind serious brain disorders
Four neuroscientists who discovered the genes involved in a host of serious brain disorders won this year’s $1 million @KavliPrize in neuroscience.
A Caribou CAR-T treatment, backed by Nobel-winning science, shows blood-cancer remissions in first data reveal
Caribou Biosciences released the first clinical trial data to emerge from the biotech company co-founded by Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna.
In the wake of big patent decision, it’s business as usual for CRISPR therapy developers
Companies that are actually turning CRISPR into medicines are plowing through the fallout of the recent patent decision with little more than a collective shrug.
3 burning questions spurred by the big CRISPR patent ruling
The patent ruling will complicate things for the flock of companies trying to commercialize CRISPR-based medicines. Here are some of the biggest questions facing the field.
UC Berkeley loses CRISPR patent case, invalidating patent rights it granted gene-editing companies developing human therapies
Ending the latest chapter in a years-long legal battle over who invented CRISPR, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ruled that the revolutionary genome editing technology belongs to the Broad Institute.
Is the Senate gearing up to actually pass drug pricing legislation?
A bill from Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock that would cap insulin copays at $35 per month got a rare shoutout from Senate leadership.
Jennifer Doudna and Marty Chavez on where CRISPR meets Wall Street
Nobel Prize-winning pioneer of CRISPR genome editing Jennifer Doudna and Sixth Street vice chairman Marty Chavez discuss where science is heading, and what business Wall Street has in CRISPR in the first place.
Listen: Robert Califf’s FDA return, the future of CRISPR, & another vaccine delay
Will there be a new ALS drug this year? What business does Wall Street have with CRISPR? And when can kids get Covid-19 vaccines? Find out on the latest episode of "The Readout LOUD." Listen now:
Inside the culture of fear in Eric Lander’s White House science office
When staffers in Eric Lander’s White House science office thought of the adjectives that described their work environment, three words stood out: hostile, siloed, and aggressive.
Jennifer Doudna
The Nobel-winning co-discoverer of the CRISPR genome-editing system, Doudna had a busy 2021. Her startup Mammoth Biosciences, which raised $195 million in September and achieved a “unicorn” valuation above $1 billion, developed a CRISPR-based diagnostic test for Covid-19 that received an emergency use authorization from the FDA in early 2022. Meanwhile, the Innovative Genomics Institute,…
The Codebreaker: A Conversation with Jennifer Doudna
Join Ruth Lehmann, Director, Whitehead Institute as she speaks with Jennifer Doudna, University of California, Berkeley professor and Nobel Laureate, about her role in the development of CRISPR-Cas9. They will discuss the potential applications of this world-changing genetic technology, the societal and ethical implications of gene editing as well as current research projects, collaborations, and…
Drugs based on next-generation gene editing are moving toward the clinic faster than CRISPR 1.0
For CRISPR 1.0 therapies, four-and-a-half years passed between the first studies in cells and the first public data in non-human primates. CRISPR 2.0, got it down to three years, according to the CRISPR TRACKR.
The fall of Eric Lander and the end of science’s ‘big ego’ era
The resignation of Eric Lander as President Biden’s lead scientific adviser is not just a blow to one president’s plans for advancing research, but a signpost on the death march of a certain way of doing science.
Did veteran drug developer Hal Barron accomplish his mission at GSK?
Hal Barron was hired to turn around R&D at GSK four years ago. Did he accomplish his mission?
With $3 billion, Hal Barron and other biotech veterans launch a disease ‘reversal’ company
With $3 billion, some of the biggest names in biotech are launching a global company aimed at disease "reversal."
Pharmalittle: Pfizer makes a major push into mRNA technology; Medicare decision on Alzheimer’s drug may hurt state budgets
A preliminary decision on Medicare coverage for the Biogen Alzheimer's drug is due this week, and it has major implications for state Medicaid programs.
Pfizer to pay Beam $300 million in gene-editing deal, amping up its mRNA ambitions
A new Pfizer deal with Beam Therapeutics is a loud announcement of the company's interest in base editing for mRNA drug and vaccine development.
Bayer to pay CRISPR-focused Mammoth Biosciences $40 million for gene editing research
Bayer viewed gene editing as "the last pillar" of capacity it has been building in cell and gene therapies, and that it had been "scouring the universe" for a company to partner with.
3 CRISPR editing innovations to watch in 2022
Here are three emerging CRISPR frontiers that we think it’s worth keeping an eye on in 2022 and beyond.
Nancy Hopkins, pioneering biologist and advocate for gender equity in science, wins STAT Biomedical Innovation Award
“It’s very easy to forget how much progress there has been because we haven’t arrived where we’d like to be," said Nancy Hopkins, winner of the STAT Biomedical Innovation Award, at the #STATSummit.
Here’s who might replace Francis Collins as NIH director
Among the names instantly singled out as the potential next NIH director: Jennifer Doudna, the Nobel-winning biochemist best known for her work on CRISPR.
Two scientists win Nobel Prize in medicine for how we sense temperature and touch
Two California-based scientists have won the 2021 Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology on Monday for their discoveries of receptors for heat, cold, and touch.
Elizabeth Holmes trial set to resume, with more insider testimony
If the first week of proceedings in the Elizabeth Holmes trial drew the battle lines, they also made clear that lawyers on both sides are digging in for a very long process.
A new technology, based on a quirk of evolutionary biology, may be the next big thing for CRISPR
The new technology has the potential to address significant and longstanding limitations to translating powerful gene editing technologies into treatments.
Listen: The quest for a Covid pill, a microbiome gut-check, & CRISPR on the big screen
How long do vaccines last? Is the microbiome overhyped? And who should play Jennifer Doudna in a movie? All that and more on the latest episode of "The Readout LOUD." Listen now:
World Health Organization advisers urge global effort to regulate genome editing
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to regulating genome editing on the global scale," CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna told STAT.
The 36 best books and podcasts on health and science to check out this summer
The STAT summer book list is back: Check out recommendations for great reads (and podcasts) from the likes of Anthony Fauci, @CDCDirector, @ChelseaClinton, STAT readers and staff, and more!