Sherlock Biosciences

Sherlock Biosciences was a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that developed molecular diagnostic technologies based on CRISPR-Cas13. The company was founded in 2019 by Feng Zhang, Jim Collins, Omar Abudayyeh, and Jonathan Gootenberg, researchers associated with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its name referred to the central diagnostic ambition of the platform: using programmable biological detection to identify specific genetic or molecular signatures with high sensitivity and selectivity. The company’s technology was built around SHERLOCK, a CRISPR-enabled diagnostic platform. Unlike CRISPR systems best known for editing DNA, Cas13 is an RNA-targeting enzyme. In a diagnostic application, guide sequences can be designed to recognize a selected RNA or DNA-derived target. Once activated by the target, the system can generate a detectable signal, allowing the presence of a pathogen or biomarker to be identified. The approach was intended to support rapid, flexible, and potentially decentralized testing, with applications extending beyond conventional laboratory workflows. Sherlock’s scientific foundation was connected to the broader development of Cas13 biology. Cas13 was identified and characterized through work involving teams led by Feng Zhang and Eugene Koonin, including computational discovery efforts, and by research from Jennifer Doudna’s group at the University of California, Berkeley. Sherlock translated this emerging CRISPR biology into a commercial diagnostics program. Its work formed part of a wider movement in biotechnology to adapt programmable nucleic-acid recognition for infectious-disease testing, health screening, and biomarker detection. The COVID-19 pandemic became the company’s most visible area of activity. In 2020, Sherlock Biosciences and Mammoth Biosciences independently pursued diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2 using related CRISPR-based technologies. Sherlock’s work demonstrated how a programmable platform could be adapted rapidly to a newly emerging pathogen. The company’s COVID-19 efforts placed it among the biotechnology firms attempting to expand diagnostic capacity during the public-health emergency, although the available reference material does not establish a complete commercial product history, regulatory status, or sales record. In 2021, Sherlock Biosciences and The Forsyth Institute announced a strategic partnership focused on products for detecting human biomarkers in the oral cavity and other oral-health applications. This broadened the company’s potential scope beyond infectious disease and reflected the versatility of CRISPR-based molecular detection for biomarker research and clinical diagnostics. The partnership also connected Sherlock’s platform capabilities with oral-health research and disease-detection expertise. Sherlock Biosciences was acquired by OraSure Technologies in December 2024. Following the acquisition, Sherlock ceased to operate as an independent company or brand in the form described in its earlier public profile. The available reference material does not specify the transaction value, detailed integration plan, or the precise fate of individual Sherlock products and intellectual property. Its principal historical significance lies in commercializing Cas13-based molecular diagnostics and in demonstrating the potential of CRISPR detection systems during the rapid diagnostic response to COVID-19.

Sherlock Biosciences was established in 2019 by Feng Zhang, Jim Collins, Omar Abudayyeh, and Jonathan Gootenberg, scientists connected with the Broad Institute and MIT. The company was created to develop diagnostic applications for CRISPR-Cas13, an RNA-targeting CRISPR enzyme whose programmable recognition properties could be adapted to molecular testing. The scientific basis for the company’s work emerged from research into Cas13 and related CRISPR systems. Teams led by Feng Zhang and Eugene Koonin contributed to the discovery and computational identification of Cas13, while subsequent characterization work involved researchers including Jennifer Doudna’s group at the University of California, Berkeley. Sherlock Biosciences converted this research field into a commercial diagnostic platform known as SHERLOCK. The platform was designed to recognize selected nucleic-acid sequences and produce a detectable signal, creating a potential route to fast and flexible tests without relying entirely on conventional laboratory infrastructure. The company gained substantial visibility in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic drove urgent demand for new diagnostic methods. Sherlock Biosciences, alongside Mammoth Biosciences, developed CRISPR-based approaches for detecting SARS-CoV-2. The companies used related but distinct CRISPR technologies originating from different research communities. Sherlock’s pandemic work illustrated the platform’s adaptability: assay designs could be developed around a newly identified pathogen by programming the system to recognize relevant genetic sequences. In 2021, Sherlock entered a strategic partnership with The Forsyth Institute. The collaboration addressed detection of human biomarkers in the oral cavity and other oral-health applications. This initiative suggested a broader development direction in which the company’s molecular detection capabilities could be applied not only to infectious agents but also to biomarkers relevant to oral disease and health monitoring. Sherlock Biosciences was acquired by OraSure Technologies in December 2024. The acquisition marked the end of the company’s independent corporate history. Publicly available reference material does not provide the purchase price, a detailed list of assets transferred, or information about whether Sherlock’s products and platform continued under a separate name within OraSure. The company’s historical contribution was its effort to commercialize CRISPR-Cas13 as a practical molecular-diagnostics technology and to extend the use of programmable nucleic-acid detection into infectious-disease and oral-health applications.

• 2024

  Acquisition by OraSure Technologies

  [1]Sherlock Biosciencesen.wikipedia.org

  OraSure Technologies acquired Sherlock Biosciences in December, ending its independent corporate operation.

• 2021

  Partnership with The Forsyth Institute

  [1]Sherlock Biosciencesen.wikipedia.org

  Sherlock and The Forsyth Institute began a strategic collaboration focused on oral-cavity biomarkers and other oral-health applications.

• 2020

  COVID-19 diagnostic development

  [1]Sherlock Biosciencesen.wikipedia.org

  The company pursued CRISPR-based testing for SARS-CoV-2 during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

• 2019

  Sherlock Biosciences is founded

  [1]Sherlock Biosciencesen.wikipedia.org

  Feng Zhang, Jim Collins, Omar Abudayyeh, and Jonathan Gootenberg founded the company to develop CRISPR-Cas13-based diagnostic technologies.

A developer of programmable, CRISPR-Cas13-based molecular diagnostics intended to enable rapid and adaptable detection of pathogens and human biomarkers.

• CRISPR-based molecular diagnostics

  SHERLOCK platform

  SHERLOCK was Sherlock Biosciences’ core diagnostic technology platform. It used programmable CRISPR-Cas13 recognition to identify selected nucleic-acid sequences and generate a detectable signal. The platform was intended to support flexible assay development for pathogens and biomarkers, with potential applications in rapid or decentralized testing.

• Infectious-disease diagnostics · 2020

  COVID-19 diagnostic assays

  During 2020, Sherlock Biosciences adapted its CRISPR diagnostic approach to the detection of SARS-CoV-2. These assays formed part of the company’s pandemic response and demonstrated the intended adaptability of the SHERLOCK technology. The available reference does not establish the final commercialization or regulatory history of specific assay products.

• Biomarker detection · 2021

  Oral-health biomarker applications

  Sherlock and The Forsyth Institute explored products designed to detect human biomarkers in the oral cavity and support other oral-health applications. The initiative represented an expansion from pathogen detection toward biomarker-based testing, but the available material does not identify specific marketed products.

• 2024

  Acquisition by OraSure TechnologiesM&A

  Background

  Sherlock Biosciences had developed a CRISPR-Cas13 diagnostics platform and related application programs.

  Action taken

  OraSure Technologies acquired Sherlock Biosciences in December 2024.

  Aftermath

  Sherlock no longer operated as an independent company. The available reference does not disclose transaction terms or the detailed integration of its technology.

  Source

• 2021

  Expansion into oral-health biomarker detectionStrategy

  Background

  Sherlock sought applications for its molecular-detection capabilities beyond infectious-disease testing.

  Action taken

  The company entered a strategic partnership with The Forsyth Institute to develop products for detecting oral-cavity biomarkers and supporting other oral-health applications.

  Aftermath

  The partnership broadened the stated application area of Sherlock’s technology, but the available source does not identify resulting commercial products.

  Source

• 2020

  Adaptation of the SHERLOCK platform for COVID-19 testingProduct launch

  Background

  The COVID-19 pandemic created urgent demand for diagnostic technologies capable of identifying SARS-CoV-2.

  Action taken

  Sherlock Biosciences developed a CRISPR-based diagnostic approach targeting the virus’s genetic material.

  Aftermath

  The work increased visibility for CRISPR-based diagnostics, although the available reference does not document the complete regulatory or commercial outcome.

  • Mammoth Biosciences — Mammoth Biosciences pursued a related CRISPR-based COVID-19 diagnostic approach using technology associated with a different research group.

  Source

1. 1Sherlock Biosciencesen.wikipedia.org