INNOVATORS
Cellectis was founded In 1999 by man named André Choulika. Cellectis is a company that works with biopharmaceutical. They focused on developing immunotherapies that has to do with on genome-editing T-cells. Cellectis’ therapeutics programs focus on using gene editing to develop genetically modified T-cells that express a Chimeric Antigen Receptors.
Research and Studies
Cellectis is trying to use immunotherapies to edit T-cells that express Chimeric Antigen Receptors, to seek a way to target the immune system and eradicate cancers. The advancements of gene-editing technologies allow celletics to create a allogeneic Chimeric Antigen Receptors, or CAR, T-cells. Cellectis discovered that breaking the immune system's tolerance is an important aspect of immunotherapies because it enables the immune system to recognize and treat tumors as an destruction cell instead of one of its own. Cellectis’ therapeutics programs are focusing on developing gene editing products that genetically modified T-cells that express a Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CAR) and are designed to target and kill cancer cells.
Innovative Genomics Initiative is a research company based in Berkeley, California. The Innovative Genomics Initiative is a collective of world-renowned laboratories working together towards common research goals in the field of genome engineering and genetic editing. The Innovative Genomics Initiative was first established at the Li Ka Shing Center for Genomic Engineering in early 2014 through a gift from the Li Ka Shing Foundation. Now, there are currently 15 labs and trails located in the Li Ka Shing Center which is held by professors and scientists who are working on ways to improve life.
Current Research and Studies
The Corn Lab, managed by Jacob Corn, includes 26 members who focuses on developing next-generation genome editing and regulation technologies to enable biological discoveries and potential therapies for human genetic diseases. The Corn Lab studies on the mechanisms in which cells repair their DNA and uses signaling to create cellular signals. They are currently are working to unravel complex cellular phenotypes to further biological understanding and improve human health.
The Corn Lab
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The Staskawicz Lab is ran by a scientist named Brian Staskawicz and his 17 co-workers. They focus on the molecular basis of plant innate immunity from the perspective of both the pathogen and the host. The lab uses molecular biology, genetics, and biochemistry to address how pathogens affect on hosts, and how resistant plant varieties recognize pathogens and activate innate immunity.
The Staskawicz Lab
Editas Medicine is a pharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They aim to develop therapies based on CRISPR–Cas9 gene editing technology. The company is a new company which went public on February 2, 2016. The company currently owns a stock for $15.21 and is currently the top 5 gene editing company on the market.
Current Studies
In 2015, Editas Medicine collaborated with Juno Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on reengineering the body's immune system to revolutionize the treatment of cancer, tried to make a high-affinity T-cell receptor (TCR) therapies to treat cancer. The two companies are both trying to develop a cell-based immunotherapies based on its chimeric antigen receptor and high-affinity T-cell receptor platform to genetically engineer T-cells to recognize and kill cancer cells. They still are working on this experiment and plan to work on it for 4 more years.
Editas and Juno Therapeutics
Editas and Adverum Biotechnologies
Editas Medicine announced on August 09, 2016 that they will be exploring the delivery of genome editing medicines to treat up to five inherited retinal diseases. They would like to create a series of therapies for debilitating eye diseases that have poor therapeutic options. They are currently holding this experiment with Adverum Biotechnologies.
Caribou Biosciences is a biotechnology company that focuses on the evolution of CRISPR-Cas genome editing.They develop new medical therapies and bio-based products which benefits to both human health and the society. They apply transformational technology and discoveries in Therapeutic, Agricultural biotechnology, Biological research, and Industrial biotechnology. The Caribou Bioscience company is dedicated to developing new cutting-edge solutions for cellular engineering by combining scientific expertise and integrity with quality systems to deliver beneficial and safe products that meet customer expectations.
Therapeutics
The Caribou Bioscience company focused on 4 different types of therapeutic and human therapeutic is one of the four they focus on. The Caribou are developing human genes and cell therapies for applications using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology to treat blood disorders and cancer. They have currently partnered up with Intellia to develope a of new form of CRISPR-Cas9-based therapies using chimeric antigen receptor T-cells and hematopoietic stem cells.I16
Human Therapeutics
Anti-microbial Therapeutics
Anti-microbial therapies is one of the four studies that the Caribou studies. They research into the microbiome by a shed light that sophisticates the interplay between humans and the microbes that live in and on us. They have the potential for developing targeted anti-bacterial therapies to eliminate specific strains of bacteria within complex communities. I17
Animal Health
The Caribou are trying to unlock new therapies to treat household pets. They plan to use the CRISPR-Cas technology to screen for druggable targets and to develop genes and cell therapies for unmet medical needs. They also want to offer new treatments for unmet medical needs with livestock and they would like to address the growing global demand for reliable food sources and improved food safety within the livestock. I18
Bioproduction
The Caribou would like to use Therapeutic bioproduction to create life-saving products. They would like to make recombinant therapeutic proteins, vaccines, and gene therapy vectors by using large-scale cell culture systems to make these products. They are aiming to improve cell systems to yield larger and higher qualities of therapeutic biomaterials. I19
Active Grants
California's Stem Cell Agency, also known as CIRM, was founded in 2004 when voters agreed to allow stem cell research in California. CRIM focuses their studies on stem cell research with a intent of finding treatments for patients in need. They are currently working on finding treatments for heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, along with many others.
Immunotherapy for HIV infection
HIV is current the 13th cause of deaths in world. Currently 1.2 billion people in the United States live with this infection. The treatment of HIV can be expensive, include negative side effects, and has to be done throughout a person's lifetime. With all of this in mind, CIRM gave a grant to the California Institute for Technology to find a more efficient way to treat HIV. They plan to use hematopoietic stem cells to treat HIV infection and if they have success, they plan to do clinical trials on humans.
Hearing loss affects over 278 million people worldwide. It is usually caused in older adults but can happen to any age groups. It is caused when the hair cells in the inner ear gets damaged. This can cause a problem because inner ear hair cells does not regenerate. Researchers at Stanford University received a grant to conduct research on hair cells. When conducting experiments in transgenic mice, they found that the loss of hair cells not just only affects hearing but also affects sensory functions. They currently have pinpointed the identity and fate of the inner ear hairs and they plan to cultivate and regenerate inner ear hairs.
Enhancing hair cell regeneration in inner ear