Beam Therapeutics as The Successful Biotech Startup

Biotechnology companies comprise an industry sector collectively known as the biotech.

Biotechnology firms use the processes of living organisms as they manufacture products or solve problems. The identification and sourcing of DNA have helped the industry make great leaps. Companies in this sector have developed pest-resistant crops, created biofuels like ethanol, and developed gene cloning. Biotech naturally became a great sector to focus for startups, as this sector is innovation-heavy. One of the examples is Beam Therapeutics.

Beam Therapeutics is the human genome editing startup launched in 2018. The project is aimed at the commercialization and development of new technology based on the CRISPR system of DNA sequences, which has been successfully used in many laboratories around the world.

In CRISPR technology, to remove or move fragments of a gene, DNA is cut using so-called molecular scissors. Specialists then restore the resulting gap using a natural system called a non-homologous end joining. At the same time, genetic information is changed at the site of the incision. A mutation resultantly occurs in a pre-selected DNA region.

Beam Therapeutics’ Base Editor technology allows changing of individual “letters” of the genetic code without cutting. It thus acts as a molecular pencil, in contrast with the relatively coarse “scissors” of CRISPR. This precise solution could take off in the next few years. This enables a wide range of potential therapeutic editing strategies that Beam is using to advance a diversified portfolio of base editing programs.

Beam Therapeutics has raised a total of $222M in funding over 2 rounds. Beam hold IPO on February 5, 2020, which was a success: IPO share price was set as $17.00, valuation got to $843M. Subsequent year was even better: as of January 2021, share price got to $113, while current market cap is $6,5B, showing more than 500% growth.