CRISPR Therapeutics Congratulates Co-Founder Emmanuelle Charpentier on Receiving the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

ZUG, Switzerland and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP), today announced Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, CRISPR Therapeutics’ co-founder, has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her groundbreaking work on the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Professor Charpentier co-founded CRISPR Therapeutics together with Rodger Novak and Shaun Foy. She is Founding, Scientific and Managing Director of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens and Honorary Professor at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. The prize was also awarded to Jennifer Doudna, Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

“The entire CRISPR Therapeutics team would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier on becoming a Nobel Laureate,” said Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics. “Professor Charpentier’s fundamental contribution to the discovery of CRISPR/Cas9 has laid the foundation for our work here at CRISPR Therapeutics, which is focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines with the potential to cure serious human diseases. We are incredibly proud and applaud her for the prestigious recognition she has received for her pioneering work.”

“Receiving the prestigious Nobel Prize, the highest distinction in science, is an extraordinary honor. I am very grateful and truly moved to receive this recognition for our work on the CRISPR/Cas9 system,” said Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier. “My thoughts go to my former lab members who have contributed significantly to the deciphering of the CRISPR/Cas9 mechanism in bacteria. This award obviously underscores the importance and relevance of fundamental research in the field of microbiology. I am truly amazed at the speed at which CRISPR research and applications in so many diverse areas of the life sciences have developed in recent years,” explained Emmanuelle Charpentier. “My most sincere acknowledgments to Rodger Novak, Samarth Kulkarni, the executive team, scientists and all members of CRISPR Therapeutics for their efforts and commitment to further develop the CRISPR/Cas9 technology as gene-based medicines to treat serious human diseases.”