Co-founder, Mammoth Biosciences
Jennifer Doudna: "AI Doesn't Replace Scientists"
Dr. Jennifer Doudna won the Nobel Prize for pioneering gene-editing technology CRISPR. Today, Scribe Therapeutics, the company she co-founded, just raised $128.7 million in its IPO for a much bigger ambition: using CRISPR to prevent heart disease. Scribe Therapeutics co-founder and Scientific Advisor Jennifer Doudna joins Ed Ludlow on "Bloomberg Tech" from the Nasdaq.
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About Jennifer Doudna
Jennifer Doudna, co-founder of Scribe Therapeutics and a Nobel laureate, appeared on Bloomberg Technology on July 24, 2026, following Scribe Therapeutics' IPO, which raised $128.7 million. Doudna discussed the company's lead therapy, which aims to lower LDL cholesterol with a single treatment using "epi editing," a method she described as making changes in DNA that are not permanent but alter protein production. She stated that this approach could allow the therapy to be used "safely and effectively for common disease." Doudna also commented on the role of artificial intelligence in science, saying that while AI is "an incredible tool" that can accelerate work, it "doesn't replace scientists" and that she does not see AI coming up with "brand new idea[s]." In a June 24, 2026, interview on "The Circuit" with Emily Chang, Doudna reflected on the pace of CRISPR's commercialization, stating that the promise of the technology was not overstated but that "we're just early." She expressed a desire for a future where patients with rare diseases can be quickly diagnosed and receive a genetic therapy through a "smooth pipeline." Doudna also addressed the impact of funding cuts to scientific research, calling them a risk to the United States' economic success in science and technology.
Transcript (14 segments)
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Interviewer0:00
Therapeutics cofounder and scientific adviser, Jennifer Doudna, is with us now. I've been reading so deeply about this. I think the best place to start is that your lead therapy aims to lower LDL cholesterol with just a single treatment. But distinct and unlike earlier gene editing approaches, you say it does not permanently edit a patient's DNA. Explain why that's such an important distinction and move forward in the technology.
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Jennifer Doudna0:28
Well, great to be here, Ed. It's an exciting moment in gene therapies because as you just said, Scribe Therapeutics has a strategy that involves what we call epi editing. It means making changes in DNA that aren't permanent but alter the production of proteins. And we think this is an incredibly important moment in the field because it means we can now use this therapy safely and effectively for common disease.
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Interviewer0:55
Jennifer, may I ask, you know, in any IPO, there's obviously a reason to do it and raise the proceeds. Right now, where are you in the cycle and the process, and what will you use those proceeds for?
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Jennifer Doudna1:07
Well, Scribe Therapeutics is a clinical stage company. We're already in our phase one trial for the first indication. The funds that are raised today will help move that forward and progress these therapies so that they can be deployed much more widely.
I
Interviewer1:24
At the start of our conversation, you explained that the technology difference. When it comes to regulators, how important is that distinction going to be versus the sort of permanent editing of one's DNA?
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Jennifer Doudna1:38
Well, Scribe is a company that was really founded on great science and has an amazing scientific team. They've invested the last several years in improving the technology to the point where it's safe and effective to treat disease as a strategy for making nonpermanent changes in DNA. So we think that this is going to be an effective way to prevent cardiovascular disease in the future that will be so safe that you can provide it much more broadly.
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Interviewer2:12
That's what we're talking about. You know, let's bring it back to basics heart disease. And it's amazing, you know, millions of people across America and across the world take statins, right, every single day. But then, you know, there's a lot of evidence, a lot of data to support that then they stop. This is a single treatment that you're working towards. And I wonder just how important that will be for the behaviors of the patients receiving it.
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Jennifer Doudna2:40
Right. We think about this a lot. I think it's very interesting to think about a way of treating or preventing disease that doesn't require taking a pill every day, right, that is really effectively a one or few time treatment. That means that people are free of having to remember to take a pill, and they don't have to worry about those kinds of side effects. It's a really interesting moment where I think we're going to see a real change in the way that medicine is delivered in the future.
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Interviewer3:09
When the Bloomberg tech audience hear the phrase gene editing, you know, inevitably, people have concern. Right? What is it from a safety perspective that they need to understand?
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Jennifer Doudna3:21
Well, the CRISPR technology is built around a strategy for targeting DNA precisely. With any technology, there's always risk. But I think what's exciting about Scribe's approach is that they've invested several years in ensuring that their strategy, this epi editing approach, is really truly safe and effective for the indications they're going after. And as we discussed before, this is not a technology now that makes a permanent change to DNA, and I think that's a real difference.
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Interviewer3:50
You had one of the most interesting and engaging conversations I've listened to this year with Bloomberg's Emily Chang on the circuit, and you talked about AI. And you had a level of skepticism about where AI really is today across drug discovery, its utility in your field. I know it's not been that many weeks or months, but have you changed your mind? Do you still hold that position on the limits of AI in your field right now?
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Jennifer Doudna4:18
Look. I think AI is an incredible tool. It's an amazing technology that allows scientists now to accelerate the kinds of work that we do. That being said, it doesn't replace scientists. We still need innovators. We still need creative people. We still need the new ideas that come out of left field, and we don't see that with AI. We see it being a great way to accelerate our ideas and make it possible to do things faster, and I think it's a great partnership.
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Interviewer4:46
Jennifer, bear with me if you would, but we have some headlines that are just crossing right now, Scribe is indicated to open at about $29 a share. The IPO priced at 15. So interesting because this was a difficult environment for biotech IPOs. We're also learning that the allocation, about 75% of the shares to just 10 investors. Reflect on that. I mean, this must mean a lot to you, but clearly, you know, investors are very receptive to this.
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Jennifer Doudna5:17
I think our investors really get this technology. They understand what's different about what Scribe is doing. They understand the quality of this team, its leadership, and its commitment to real science. And that's what we're seeing, I think, reflected in the marketplace.