Gene Editing Pioneer Jennifer Doudna Aims to Bring Crispr Treatments Mainstream With $1 Billion Plan

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Crispr pioneer Jennifer Doudna, who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on the gene-editing technology, is now aiming to raise $1 billion for her Innovative Genomics Institute to support a $100 million annual budget over the next 10 years. The goal is to make personalized Crispr treatments more widely available and affordable, and to find applications in areas like agriculture and the environment. Doudna has already helped spin out 31 Crispr-related companies valued at around $9 billion, but commercializing the technology has proven challenging. With the successful treatment of a baby with a rare genetic disorder, Doudna believes Crispr's potential is finally starting to pay off.

Why it matters

Doudna's efforts to build an ecosystem around Crispr could help overcome the challenges that have so far hindered the commercialization of gene editing technologies, making personalized treatments more accessible and affordable. Her focus on using Crispr for applications beyond just medicine, such as in agriculture and climate change, also demonstrates the broad potential of the technology.

The details

Doudna plans to raise $1 billion for the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) to support a $100 million annual budget over the next 10 years. This funding would go towards setting up the next generation of Crispr scientists and making personalized gene editing treatments more widely available. The IGI has already helped spin out 31 Crispr-related companies valued at around $9 billion, and Doudna is a cofounder of seven of them. One recent success was the quick development and FDA approval of a Crispr-based therapy to treat a rare genetic disorder in a baby, showing the potential of the technology. However, commercializing Crispr has proven challenging, with Crispr companies facing scientific setbacks, layoffs, and stock declines. Doudna hopes her new funding plan can help overcome these hurdles and unlock Crispr's full potential.

• In August 2024, baby KJ Muldoon was born with a rare metabolic disorder.
• In February 2025, KJ received his first infusion of a custom Crispr-based gene therapy treatment.
• In 2020, Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on Crispr.
• In 2015, Doudna founded the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI).
• In 2011, Doudna's student Rachel Haurwitz launched Caribou Biosciences, the first startup to come out of Doudna's lab.

What they’re saying

What’s next

The FDA is currently weighing a new way to assess gene editing therapies, which could allow drugmakers to adapt treatments for various mutations of the same gene without requiring separate clinical trials for each. This emerging regulatory framework could help accelerate the development and approval of personalized Crispr treatments.