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Ag-Bio Startup Amfora Licenses CRISPR IP From Corteva, Broad Institute

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) — Ag-bio startup Amfora announced today that it has acquired a nonexclusive license to intellectual property covering CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing and related technologies from DowDuPont's Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute.

San Francisco-based Amfora, which closed a $5 million Series A round roughly two years ago, aims to develop nutritionally enhanced food and feed crops. Under the terms of the license, Amfora will be able to use the IP to develop crops with increased protein content.

Additional terms were not disclosed.

"The CRISPR-Cas9 patent estate is a proven technology that we can use to develop our products," Amfora CSO Michael Lassner said in a statement. "Securing this license will allow us to effectively use our proprietary technology."

Earlier this year, Amfora said that it won a $350,000 grant from the United Soybean Board to develop soybean varieties with increased protein content.

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