CRISPR Beyond Human Health: The New Investing Frontier for Gene Editing

CRISPR Beyond Human Health

A lot can be said about the amazing capability of CRISPR gene editing for human health. This is something that we discussed in previous articles:

Leading gene editing companies comparisons:

Leading genomic tools manufacturers comparison:

Illumina vs Pacific Bioscience: Choosing the Next Generation Genome Sequencing Company

But there is no technical reason for gene editing to be confined to humans. CRISPR is already getting deployed for new applications like synthetic biology and is even considered for algal biofuels. Still, the largest market beyond human medicine is just getting started: gene editing for agriculture and food production.

Genetic And Farming

For most people, the idea of genetic modification and farming brings forth the idea of GMOs. While mostly accepted in some parts of the world, they are strictly banned in other large markets like the EU.

This is a rather limited perspective on the link between genetics and farming. In fact, even the earliest efforts at farming relied heavily upon modifying wild varieties and turning them into “domesticated” breeds. And this was true for both plants and animals.

The first method was selective breeding. Farmers could not create mutations, but they could keep them and spread them when they randomly occurred. They also actively crossed the genetics of different varieties in the hope to create more robust, productive, or healthy crops and flocks.

In the 1920s, mutation breeding became a thing. It relies on chemical or radioactive mutagens to accelerate the mutation process, and an advanced selection process to find new varieties or traits. Please take note this method is NOT considered GMO and represents the large majority of the food we eat today.

Then, in the 1980s, transgenic breeding started, with foreign genes inserted into plants and sometimes animals. This is what people know as GMOs. Instead of random mutation, now the process was a lot more targeted. Still, some details were not controlled like the location of the inserted gene.

And with the first proof-of-concept in the 2000s, we are now getting into genome editing, which might prove the final frontier of crops improvement.

Source: Innovative Genomics

Plant And Animal Gene Editing

We mentioned GMO plants, but this is only one of the best-known applications of genetic modifications. In modern medicine, anti-blood-clotting protein is produced in goat milk, insulin in GMO bacteria, and others drugs for cancer or multiple sclerosis can be produced in eggs.

Because GMOs are tightly regulated, gene editing might have a huge commercial advantage. You see, according to most regulations “If it is used to edit the DNA that a plant naturally has, the resulting plant is not transgenic/GM. If it is used to add DNA from a different species, then the resulting plant is transgenic/GM.”

So, many gene editing companies focused on plants or animals could see massive markets like the EU open to them, while their traditional GMO competitors are barred from entry.

The potential for CRISPR gene editing in the field is enormous. There are so many possible applications, that even just listing them takes a lot of space:

Animals
- Reducing animal vulnerability to diseases, in salmon, pigs, oxen, chickens, etc…
- Increased yields.
  - More muscles.
  - Quicker growth.
  - Reducing mortality (for example, 40% of farmed salmons fail to reach adult age).
Plants.
- Increase resistance to environmental conditions:
  - Salinity.
  - Drought.
  - Extreme heat.
  - Flood.
  - Wind.
  - Cold & frost.
- Improve productivity.
  - Improving photosynthesis.
  - Speeding maturation of grains, fruits, etc…
  - More biomass for biofuels, composts, etc…
- Resistance to pests and diseases.
  - Bacterias.
  - Virus.
  - Fungus.
  - Insects.
- Improve commercial properties.
  - Prevent mushrooms and fruits from browning.
  - Increase shelf life.
  - Create seedless fruits.
  - Change color, appearance, or taste.
  - Increase the nutritional value.
  - Change chemical profile, like decaffeinated coffee beans, etc…
New use of farming.
- Turning plants or animals into “biofactories” for:
- Human medicine: antibodies, medical treatments, etc…
- Organs ready for transplants in humans.
- Biofuels.
- Spices, fragrance, colorants.
- Non-allergenic varieties.
Genetic containment to avoid contaminating other crops with modified genes: making GMO plants sterile could allow the lifting of some GMO bans as it would remove the potential threat to the ecosystems.
Adapting to climate change.
Save endangered species.

For a deeper dive into the possibility and challenge of agricultural CRISPR gene editing, you can consult this page from the Innovative Genomics Insitute.

A Selection Of Companies Using CRISPR In Agriculture

Many companies are actively leveraging CRISPR for agriculture, with many already having products soon to reach markets, waiting for the regulators’ approval.

Luckily for the companies working in this sector, the regulatory burden on gene editing compared to traditional GMO is much lighter, according to the prestigious publication Nature “This has reduced the US regulatory burden for genome-edited plants to next to nothing. Brazil, Argentina, and Australia have taken a similar approach.” The lighter than normal regulations in the massive agriculture powers like the US and South America offer a large market for gene-edited crops and farm animals, irrespective of the EU decisions and possible change of mind on the matter.

Aquabounty (AQB)

While, not technically a gene editing company, Aquabounty was a pioneer in GMO salmon for 30 years. Nevertheless, as it is already FDA-approved, it was worth pointing it out to interested investors. Its technology rely on older gene modification techniques, but have been studied and proven to be of high quality, with no problem from the gene insertion..

Bayer (BAYRY)

One of the largest biotech and seed companies in the world, after its merger with Monsanto. It controls most of the traditional GMO seed market, and is also working on using CRISPR for the next generation of seeds for corn, soybean, wheat, etc…

One part of this effort to evolve from traditional GMOs is done through a partnership with Gingko Bioworks (DNA), one of the largest synthetic biology companies. The partnership is focused on developing biological alternatives to chemical fertilizers via gene editing of microorganisms.

Gingko Bioworks (DNA)

Speaking of Gingko, they are also working on specific options to “farm” bacteria. Notably to replace cannabis plant cultivation with lab-grown cannabinoids. It is likely that over time, “farming” for a large array of products like cannabis, tobacco, or even coffee might become a biotech venture more than just growing plants. They are also developing solutions for animal and crop health.

Corteva Agrisciences (CTVA)

The $41B company is developing aggressively new line of crops using CRISPR technology. To do so, it leverages a large network of partnerships with international research institutes. It also signed an agreement with French seed producer Vilmorin & Cie for access to Corteva’s CRISPR patents.

Benson Hill (BHIL)

When we talk about innovation in CRISPR, the focus is often on medical biotech companies or public research institutes. But agribusinesses are also involved in fundamental research, as illustrated by Benson Hill’s discoveries on Cas12a2 and the so-called CRISPR 3.0 discoveries. The company is focused on soybean, with also a presence in peas and aquaculture. It is still in early stage and plans to reach profitability in both EBITDA and free cash flow by 2025.

Calyxt (CLXT)

The company is modifying plant cells through gene editing and other methods to create bioreactors. These bioreactors can be used to produce molecules used in cosmetics, food, or pharmaceutics. The bioreactors function like cell cultures, able to imitate the way plant tissues are organized, allowing for the production of multiple compounds at once and lower costs.

ToolGen (199800.KQ)

The company is using a CRISPR-CAs9 platform for gene editing. It is used for human health, but also to improve animal and plant traits, as well as to produce high-value compounds in animal and plant cell lines. Its agriculture research pipeline includes things like soybean with more healthy lipid content, herbicide resistance, drought tolerance, and pest resistance.

Private companies

Not all companies using CRISPR for improving agriculture are publicly traded. Among private companies and startups, and potential competitors to the companies mentioned above, we can highlight Pairwise, Hudson River Biotechnology, PlantEdit, or Inari.

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