GlaxoSmithKline, UC’s Doudna Establish $67M Genomics, CRISPR Research Lab
Drug company GlaxoSmithKline announced today that it will establish a laboratory for CRISPR technologies as part of a five-year collaboration with University of California researchers.
The new Laboratory for Genomics Research (LGR) will investigate disease-causing gene mutations and develop new technologies using CRISPR to accelerate the discovery of new drugs, with a focus on immunology, oncology, and neuroscience. The LGR will receive up to $67 million in funding over the five-year collaboration period, including facilities for 24 full-time university employees funded by GSK, plus up to 14 full-time GSK employees, the company said. GSK’s artificial intelligence and machine learning group will also aid in building any necessary bioinformatics pipelines. The laboratory will be based near the University of California, San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus.
The LGR aims to automate existing CRISPR approaches so that this work can be done at scale. Ultimately, the lab’s goal is to deepen researchers’ understanding of genetics and discover new drug targets. They’re also aiming to create next-generation technologies for the pharmaceutical industry, GSK added.
