BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Caribou Biosciences, Inc., a leading clinical-stage CRISPR genome editing biotechnology company, today announced that co-founder Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In awarding the prize to Dr. Doudna, the Swedish Academy cited her contributions to science for the co-development of CRISPR-Cas9, a genome editing breakthrough which has revolutionized biomedicine. The prize was also awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier, Founding, Scientific and Managing Director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens and Honorary Professor at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.

“We could not be more excited to see Jennifer’s groundbreaking work and accomplishments recognized by the Nobel Prize,” said Rachel Haurwitz, Ph.D., President and CEO of Caribou Biosciences. “Jennifer’s discoveries and inventions in CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing have helped to revolutionize science and medicine with their enormous impact on health and society becoming clearer every day. Our team at Caribou and I are grateful every day to have Jennifer play a central role in the creation and advancement of our organization.”

Dr. Doudna is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor's Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley where she is also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and president and chair of the board of the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI). She is also a faculty scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a senior investigator at the Gladstone Institutes, and an adjunct professor of cellular and molecular pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. Her work and discoveries have previously been recognized through the award of a Kavli Prize in Nanoscience, Japan Prize, BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine, Canada Gairdner International Award, Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, Massry Prize, Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, and the Alan T. Waterman Award.

The Nobel Prize is awarded for outstanding contributions in physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, literature, peace, and economic sciences. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on recommendation from the Nobel Committee and represents one of the highest levels of achievement for researchers in the field.

About Caribou Biosciences, Inc.

Caribou is a leading clinical-stage CRISPR genome editing biotechnology company founded by pioneers of CRISPR-Cas9 biology. The company is developing an internal pipeline of off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapies and genome-edited natural killer (NK) cell therapies.

Additionally, Caribou offers licenses to its CRISPR-Cas9 foundational IP in multiple fields including research tools, internal research use, diagnostics, and industrial biotechnology. Interested companies may contact Caribou at licensing@cariboubio.com.

For more information about Caribou, visit www.cariboubio.com and follow the Company @CaribouBio.

“Caribou Biosciences” and the Caribou logo are registered trademarks of Caribou Biosciences, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201007005963/en/