A Safer CRISPR? Cyrus, Broad Institute Look to Quell Concerns
Summary
Cyrus Biotechnology and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have teamed up to make gene editing with the CRISPR-Cas9 technology safer. The multi-target collaboration, specific details of which are not being disclosed, aims to address longstanding concerns surrounding gene editing: some patients might be predisposed to an immune reaction to the DNA-cutting enzyme Cas9. Taking aim at what CEO Lucas Nivó says is the most problematic form, Cyrus can reduce or eliminate T-cell mediated (active) immunogenicity. Based on the Rosetta software suite, the company’s so-called “computational deimmunization platform” uses structural biophysics and machine learning-based methods to help design CRISPR-Cas9 enzymes that are less likely to incite an immune response. Results from the Cyrus and Broad collaboration will be published in peer-reviewed journals and any improved CRISPR model will be freely available to non-profits and academic scientists.
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