Mammoth Biosciences is a biotechnology company based in Brisbane, California[1] developing diagnostic tests using CRISPR-Cas12a and CRISPR-based therapies using its proprietary ultra-small CRISPR systems. Several CRISPR-Cas systems identified through the company's metagenomics-based protein discovery platform, including members of the Casφ and Cas14 families of CRISPR-associated enzymes, have demonstrated potential for therapeutic genome editing in in vivo settings.[2]
Company type | Private |
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Industry | Biotechnology |
Founded | 2017 |
Founder | Jennifer Doudna
Trevor Martin Janice Chen Lucas Harrington |
Headquarters | Brisbane, California, United States |
Website | https://mammoth.bio |
The company was founded in 2017[3] by Jennifer Doudna, Janice Chen, and Lucas Harrington of the University of California, Berkeley, and Trevor Martin of Stanford University.[4] Mammoth signed agreements in December 2019 and January 2020 with Horizon Discovery to combine Mammoth's intellectual property in CRISPR with Horizon's expertise in Chinese hamster ovary cells.[5] Also in 2020, both Mammoth Biosciences and Sherlock Biosciences from the Broad Institute used their similar CRISPR technologies to develop tests for COVID-19.[6] The technology, which is owned under the trademark of DETECTR BOOST, has been contracted to be manufactured by Merck & Co.[7]
In 2023, the company announced that it will focus on developing CRISPR-based therapies.[8] The company's platform uses "ultra-small" Cas enzymes, such as CasΦ and Cas14, which measure down to a third or less the size of Cas9, and which could allow for easier delivery in vivo through commonly used non-viral and viral delivery mechanisms, including adeno-associated virus vectors.[9] [10] Compared to Cas9, CasΦ and Cas14 may also offer less restrictive protospacer adjacent motif requirements, advantageous off-target activity, and allele-specific editing capabilities, which could broaden the range of targetable diseases in the genome.[10] [9] Mammoth previously announced partnerships with Vertex Pharmaceuticals (2021) and Bayer (2022) to research ultra-small CRISPR systems for in vivo editing.[11][12]
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