CRISPR: A Screener’s Guide

The discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 systems has fueled a rapid expansion of gene editing adoption and has impacted pharmaceutical and biotechnology research substantially. Here, gene editing is used at an industrial scale to identify and validate new biological targets for precision medicines, with functional genomic screening having an increasingly important role. Functional genomic strategies provide a crucial link between observed biological phenomena and the genes that influence and drive those phenomena. Although such studies are not new, the use of CRISPR-Cas9 systems in this arena is providing more robust datasets for target identification and validation. CRISPR-based screening approaches are also useful later in the drug development pipeline for understanding drug resistance and sensitivity ahead of entering clinical trials. This review examines the developing landscape for CRISPR screening technologies within the pharmaceutical industry and explores the next steps for this constantly evolving screening platform.