It's All A Miracle: Beast Games' Jeffrey Allen Wins Biggest Prize In History
Speakers
Becky Quick — Host, CNBC
— CNBC Squawk Box host
Summary
- Jeffrey Allen, winner of MrBeast's "Beast Games" on Amazon Prime, discusses using his $10 million prize to fund research for Creatine Transporter Deficiency (CTD).
- The "Beast Games" show generated massive engagement, citing 50 million viewers in the first 25 days, validating the power of the Creator Economy on streaming platforms.
- The conversation highlights the "valley of death" in biotech: science is slow, and funding is the primary bottleneck between discovering a target (like the creatine transporter) and a commercial therapy.
- Specific therapeutic modalities mentioned include ASO (Antisense Oligonucleotide) therapies, prodrugs, and gene therapy.
- The episode concludes with a teaser for a "CRISPR-based gene editing therapy" success story, reinforcing a bullish macro theme for genetic medicine.
Trade Ideas
Jeffrey mentions that for his son's disease (CTD), pharmaceutical companies are looking at "ASO therapy" (Antisense Oligonucleotide) and "prodrugs" to bypass the blood-brain barrier. Ionis (IONS) is the market leader in RNA-targeted ASO therapies, and Ultragenyx (RARE) specializes in rare genetic diseases and metabolic disorders. When a specific modality like ASO is highlighted as the solution for neurological transport issues, it validates the broader technology platforms of these specialized firms. Watch these tickers as proxies for advancements in ASO and rare disease drug delivery. Clinical trial failures are common in rare disease; "science is slow" (as stated by the guest).
Jeffrey Allen notes that "Beast Games season one attracted 50 million viewers in its first 25 days, streaming on Amazon Prime." This viewership metric confirms the success of Amazon's strategy to integrate top-tier "Creator Economy" talent (MrBeast) into Prime Video. High engagement drives Prime retention and high-value video ad inventory, differentiating Amazon from legacy studios. Long Amazon as it successfully bridges YouTube-style content with premium streaming infrastructure. High production costs for exclusive content; saturation of the streaming market.
Becky Quick
Co-Anchor, Squawk Box
In the outro, Becky Quick teases the next episode featuring a child who received a "personalized CRISPR-based gene editing therapy" that likely saved his life. While a teaser, this highlights the shift of CRISPR technology from theoretical research to applied clinical success ("miracles"). Positive real-world outcomes in rare diseases validate the platforms of major gene-editing companies, justifying premium valuations for their pipelines. Long the CRISPR innovators as clinical validation accelerates. Regulatory hurdles; high cost of personalized therapies limiting total addressable market (TAM).
Up Next
This CNBC video, published March 02, 2026, features Jeffrey Allen, Becky Quick discussing IONS, RARE, AMZN, CRSP, NTLA, BEAM. 3 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Jeffrey Allen, Becky Quick · Tickers: IONS, RARE, AMZN, CRSP, NTLA, BEAM