Crispr Pioneer Launches Startup to Make Tailored Gene-Editing Treatments

January 9, 2026

Testing vials

(Wired) – Aurora Therapeutics, cofounded by Nobel Prize–winning scientist Jennifer Doudna, plans to use gene editing and a new FDA regulatory pathway to commercialize treatments for rare diseases.

Last February, a sick infant named KJ received a gene-editing treatment made just for him. Created in just six months, it was meant to correct a rare genetic mutation that was causing toxic ammonia to build up in his small body. The treatment likely saved his life, and baby KJ was discharged from the hospital in June.

Now, a new startup called Aurora Therapeutics, cofounded by gene-editing pioneer Jennifer Doudna, is aiming to scale such treatments to many more patients with rare diseases. Doudna is one of the inventors of the gene-editing system known as Crispr, and won a Nobel Prize in 2020 for her work on the technology. (Read More)