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Sigma-Aldrich Licenses CRISPR-Cas9 Tech to Horizon Discovery

NEW YORK – Sigma-Aldrich, a business unit of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, has non-exclusively licensed its patented CRISPR-Cas9 technology to Horizon Discovery, a PerkinElmer company.

The global licensing deal enables Horizon to support gene editing researchers who need cell-line engineering beyond loss-of-function CRISPR studies into CRISPR-mediated targeted knock-in, Sigma-Aldrich said.

This allows researchers to study mutational modeling, tag genes for localization or interaction studies, and generate cell models with specific mutational profiles that mimic disease to better understand genetic conditions and identify potential therapeutic targets, the company added.

"With the addition of Sigma's technology, Horizon now has four CRISPR-Cas9 licenses covering key uses for basic research studies in mammalian cells," Bryan Kipp, vice president of life sciences strategy and integration at PerkinElmer, said in a statement. "This addition enables Horizon to further support researchers in replicating varied genomic profiles and increases confidence in how a potential therapy can work across various disease states."

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Sigma-Aldrich, on behalf of MilliporeSigma, also recently licensed its portfolio of CRISPR-related intellectual property to agbio firm BetterSeeds. Though Sigma-Aldrich is the legal entity that owns the CRISPR IP, MilliporeSigma is the business unit under which it conducts CRISPR-related business in the US, according to a Sigma-Aldrich spokesperson. Both business units are part of Merck KGaA.

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