Synthego Corporation

Synthego Corporation is a biotechnology company headquartered in Redwood City, California, founded in July 2012 by former SpaceX engineers Paul and Michael Dabrowski. Initially privately held, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5, 2025. Subsequently, Perceptive Advisors, a life sciences-focused investment firm, acquired substantially all of Synthego's assets in a transaction that closed on July 18, 2025. Synthego now operates as a subsidiary of Perceptive Advisors, with its existing leadership and staff remaining in place. Prior to its restructuring, Synthego had raised over $450 million in funding. As of 2026, it is reported to have approximately 156 employees.

Synthego specializes in CRISPR-based genome engineering solutions, providing tools and services to researchers, drug developers, and biopharmaceutical companies. Their flagship offerings include synthetic guide RNA (gRNA) and single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs), and the company states it is the sole U.S. manufacturer of both research- and therapeutic-grade gRNAs. Its product portfolio also encompasses licensed CRISPR nucleases (e.g., Cas9, Cas12, eSpOT-ON), ancillary enzymes, bioinformatic software for guide design, and molecular biology reagents like PCR enzymes and isothermal amplification kits. In March 2024, Synthego divested its Engineered Cells and screening library business to focus on its core gRNA operations.

Synthego Corporation's patent litigation posture reflects that of an operating company actively defending and clearing intellectual property obstacles related to its core technologies. The company is recorded as a plaintiff in one tracked case, "Synthego Corporation v. Agilent Technologies, Inc.", before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). In this action, Synthego initiated inter partes review proceedings in 2022 to challenge two patents owned by Agilent Technologies, Inc., which covered fundamental chemical modifications to CRISPR guide RNAs.

This notable litigation resulted in the PTAB invalidating Agilent's patents in May 2023, a decision subsequently affirmed by the Federal Circuit in June 2025. Agilent's petition to the Supreme Court was denied on April 1, 2026, rendering the patent invalidation permanent. This legal victory for Synthego removed a significant patent roadblock in the CRISPR medicine field, allowing researchers and developers broader access to critical guide RNA modifications without the threat of infringement claims or licensing fees.