Mammoth Biosciences Secures Exclusive License to Commercialize Novel CRISPR Protein

Mammoth Biosciences, the company behind the world’s first CRISPR-based disease detection platform, announces the exclusive licensing of a new CRISPR protein, Cas14, from UC Berkeley, for use in all fields. Two of Mammoth Biosciences’ co-founders, Lucas Harrington and CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna, were part of the team that discovered the protein. 

Each CRISPR Cas protein offers a particular application by virtue of its speed, precision, and cost. Cas14, as the smallest protein discovered to-date, is equipped with single-stranded DNA cutting capability, making it uniquely positioned for hyper-specific applications across infectious disease, genetic mutations, and oncology. The peer-reviewed journal Science published the discovery findings in October 2018.

The addition of Cas14 gives Mammoth a trifecta in CRISPR diagnostics with the exclusive rights to commercialize three key Cas proteins: 

• Cas12, which targets double-stranded DNA
• Cas13 for single-stranded RNA recognition; and now 
• Cas14 for single-stranded DNA

Mammoth Biosciences aims to democratize disease detection with an easy and affordable point-of-care test that allows fast, simultaneous detection of multiple conditions, in real time, and the addition of the novel protein strengthens Mammoth’s IP portfolio and accelerates the commercialization of its CRISPR-enabled platform. 

“Mammoth has created the most robust diagnostics platform, leveraging the power of CRISPR to serve as a search engine for biology, and this marks a major extension of that work,” said Trevor Martin, co-founder and CEO of Mammoth Biosciences. “Our commercial progress is fueled by our protein discovery engine to uncover additional Cas systems and drive our mission forward.”

Since launching in April 2018, the company has quickly expanded its platform and is moving forward with developing and collaborating with others to build a multitude of diagnostic tests and applications. Mammoth is currently reviewing partnership requests from those interested in building on its CRISPR-based platform. For more information visit http://www.mammoth.bio

About Mammoth Biosciences:

Mammoth Biosciences is a biotech company that has developed the world’s first and only CRISPR-based detection platform capable of sensing any biomarker or disease with DNA/RNA. The company is co-founded by CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna, Stanford PhDs Trevor Martin and Ashley Tehranchi, and Berkeley PhD students Janice Chen and Lucas Harrington. Mammoth is on a mission to leverage the power of CRISPR to democratize disease detection by bringing accurate and affordable testing out of the laboratory and into the point-of-care. The company has raised nearly $25 million in funding led by top investors and includes Mayfield, NFX, 8VC, AME Cloud, Wireframe, Kairos, and Boom Capital. 

Contact Information

Kathryn Ryan

Senior Account Executive

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kathryn@vscconsulting.com