Epicrispr Biotechnologies, known as Epic Bio, is an American epigenetic-editing firm based in California. It was founded by Stanley Qi, a Stanford University researcher who earned his PhD in Jennifer Doudna's lab and was the first to work out how to disable the cutting mechanism of the Cas9 enzyme—the key insight that makes epigenetic editing possible.
Epic Bio's editing platform is called GEMS. Its lead programme targets facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), a currently incurable creeping paralysis caused by the activation in adulthood of a gene that is useful only in embryonic development. GEMS is being deployed to deactivate this gene; a trial involving eight patients was under way as of early 2026.
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