Locus Biosciences

Locus Biosciences develops therapies for infectious disease and the microbiome.

Locus Biosciences’ novel approach to precision antimicrobials works by taking advantage of an immune system present in many bacteria called the CRISPR-Cas system. The CRISPR-Cas system protects bacteria from invaders such as viruses by creating a small strand of RNA called a CRISPR RNA, which matches a DNA sequence specific to a given invader. If the CRISPR RNA is matched to a complementary DNA sequence, the Cas proteins will cleave the invading DNA. Locus Biosciences designs and creates novel CRISPR RNAs and uses a powerful CRISPR-Cas system, referred to as Cascade/Cas3, that kills target bacteria by irreversibly destroying the bacterial DNA. The irreversible destruction of DNA is the primary differentiator between Cas3 and Cas9, as Cas9 makes double-stranded breaks that can be repaired by the cell. The Locus Biosciences platform enables the design and development of powerful antimicrobials that avoid currently known antibiotic resistance mechanisms while leaving non-target bacteria unharmed. Built on prokaryotic technology for prokaryotic targets, Locus is advancing its platform to create therapeutics for critical disease areas ranging from resistant bacterial infections to the microbiome.