NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Synthetic Genomics today announced its acquisition of the worldwide rights to three families of patents and patent applications related to synthetic genomic technologies from Germany's Febit Holding.
Included in the deal are related know-how, equipment, and technical support for implementation, La Jolla, Calif.-based Synthetic Genomics said. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquired IP includes seven patents issued in the US and Europe covering methods to produce polymers and methods for retrieving sequence-verified synthetic nucleic acids after they've been assembled on solid supports. The methods can be used for synthesizing genetic components in parallel and then selectively assembling the components that have the perfect sequence into double stranded genes and larger DNA constructs with minimal errors, Synthetic Genomics said.
The technologies, it added, could "drastically" lower the cost of DNA synthesis, a hindrance to the synthetic biology community since the first synthetic gene was produced four decades ago, the company said.
Synthetic Genomics Founder and CEO J. Craig Venter said in a statement that the purchased IP "will strengthen and accelerate SGI's ongoing development and commercialization of a variety of products including algae-based food and nutritional products, biofuels, biochemicals, synthetic vaccines, and clean water.
"The ability to construct accurate and inexpensive DNA, together with our current proprietary DNA assembly and genome transplantation methodologies, enable enhanced capacity to synthesize DNA and reprogram cells at a larger scale than what is currently achievable," he added.