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Beam Therapeutics

Biotechnology company pioneering base editing, a next-generation precision gene editing technology that enables programmable, precise single base changes in DNA without creating double-strand breaks.

Location
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Founded
2017
Investors
1
Categories
biotech, gene-editing, base-editing, therapeutics, genetic-diseases

Notes

Beam Therapeutics is a pioneering biotechnology company that developed base editing, a revolutionary gene editing technology that allows for precise, programmable changes to single DNA bases (A, T, C, G) without cutting the DNA double helix. Unlike traditional CRISPR-Cas9 which creates double-strand breaks, base editing is designed to be safer and more precise.

The company was founded by some of the world's leading gene editing scientists and has built a broad pipeline of base editing programs across multiple therapeutic areas including hematology, oncology, and genetic diseases. Beam went public on Nasdaq (BEAM) in 2020.

Team

  • John Evans - Chief Executive Officer and Board Member
  • Giuseppe Ciaramella, Ph.D. - President
  • Amy Simon, M.D. - Chief Medical Officer
  • Sravan Emany - Chief Financial Officer
  • Gopi Shanker, Ph.D. - Chief Scientific Officer
  • Manmohan Singh, Ph.D. - Chief Technology Officer
  • John Lo, Ph.D. - Chief Commercial Officer
  • Susan O'Connor - Chief Human Resources Officer
  • Christine Bellon, Ph.D., J.D. - Chief Legal Officer

Founders and Inventors

  • David R. Liu, Ph.D. - Founder and Inventor (Harvard University, Broad Institute - inventor of base editing)
  • J. Keith Joung, M.D., Ph.D. - Founder and Inventor (Massachusetts General Hospital)
  • Feng Zhang, Ph.D. - Founder and Inventor (Broad Institute, MIT - CRISPR pioneer)
  • Nicole Gaudelli, Ph.D. - Inventor
  • Alexis Komor, Ph.D. - Inventor

Board Members

  • Mark Fishman, M.D. - Independent Lead Director
  • Graham Cooper
  • Carole Ho, M.D.
  • Christi Shaw
  • Chirfi Guindo
  • John Maraganore, Ph.D.
  • Kate Walsh

Additional Research Findings

  • Publicly traded on Nasdaq: BEAM
  • Base editing technology enables single-base changes without double-strand breaks
  • Founded by pioneers in gene editing (Liu, Zhang, Joung)
  • Multiple programs in clinical development
  • Therapeutic areas: hematology, oncology, genetic diseases
  • Technology platform licensed from Broad Institute and Harvard
  • Cambridge, MA headquarters in biotech hub

Sources

Investors

NameLocationTypeStagesPortfolio
Redmile Group-healthcare-focused-1