Bayer and ERS enter CRISPR patent licensing agreement

Bayer and ERS Genomics have signed a patent licensing agreement which gives Bayer access to ERS’s CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing patents.

Axel Bouchon, head of the Bayer Lifescience Center, said: “This is perfectly suited to fully leverage the tremendous potential of CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing within Bayer and serves as an ideal addition to our partnership with CRISPR Therapeutics.”

Bayer recently created a joint venture with CRISPR Therapeutics to discover, develop and commercialise new breakthrough therapeutics to cure blood disorders, blindness and congenital heart disease.

Shaun Foy, chief executive and founder of ERS Genomics, said of the latest deal: “Genome-editing has broad applications in drug discovery and development and making the CRISPR/Cas9 patents available to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies is an important part of our strategy.”

CRISPR/Cas9 is an RNA-guided gene-editing platform and its ownership is currently being disputed in the US by two groups.

In other Bayer news, the company recently privately discussed a negotiated acquisition of agricultural business Monsanto.