Nearly a decade ago, consultants delivered to Rodger Novak a kind of Sears catalog of human malady: 200 pages, listing dozens of different diseases, each annotated with — from a business standpoint — their best and worst attributes.
The document was supposed to help Novak, then the chief executive of CRISPR Therapeutics, navigate a pressing quandary. His company, along with two others, were founded to commercialize the new revolutionary gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, which promised to cure numerous genetic diseases. But which should they target first? What was the best proof-of-concept?
advertisement
“We looked at anything and everything,” said Novak, who stepped down as CEO in 2017 but remained on the board until this year.
Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.
Subscribe Log In
Previous article：
Why the Crimean Bridge is key to Russia's war in Ukraine
Next article： Hepatitis C has a cure — but many Americans still lack access to it
Next article： Hepatitis C has a cure — but many Americans still lack access to it
