NEW YORK – ERS Genomics said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to nonexclusively license its CRISPR-Cas9 patent portfolio to US biopharmaceutical company Cellular Engineering Technologies.
Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We are excited to secure this essential license agreement with ERS Genomics, which will allow us to integrate our stem cell technology with CRISPR/Cas9 to create next-generation stem cells that better serve the life science market,” CET CEO and cofounder Alan Moy said in a statement. “This will offer greatly improved cells to produce therapeutic biologics, viral vectors for cell and gene therapy, and vaccines for both the human and animal health sectors.”
Dublin-based ERS was founded to provide access to CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property held by Emmanuelle Charpentier. The IP is shared among her, Jennifer Doudna and the University of California, and the University of Vienna. The IP is separate from genome editing patents held by the Broad Institute.
ERS has entered into similar agreements over the past few months with Japan SLC, Nippon Gene, GenOway, and others.
“CRISPR/Cas9 is a powerful genome engineering tool that has revolutionized many research areas,” said Eric Rhodes, CEO of ERS Genomics. “At ERS Genomics, we are committed to making this technology broadly available, and we are very pleased to support CET, a dynamic and innovative company at the forefront of cell engineering.”