By Lei Lei Wu – EndpointsNews
MIT scientists have developed a tool that they say can insert large gene sequences where they want in the genome.
In a paper published Thursday in Nature Biotechnology, MIT fellows Omar Abudayyeh, Jonathan Gootenberg and colleagues detail a technology they call PASTE, which they say can potentially be used to insert long strands of DNA and treat genetic diseases caused by many different mutations, such as cystic fibrosis and Leber congenital amaurosis, a rare eye disorder that causes blindness.
The technology has been licensed to Tome Biosciences — a biotech co-founded by the duo back in February of 2021 and backed by ARCH, Google’s venture arm, a16z, Longwood Fund, Polaris Partners and Alexandria Venture, which joined after its Series A, according to a recent pitch deck obtained by Endpoints News.