ERS Genomics signs CRISPR patent deal on industrial applications

ERS Genomics, the company providing access to CRISPR/Cas9 IP owned by Emmanuelle Charpentier, has signed a licensing deal with synthetic biology startup Syngulon.

The companies announced the non-exclusive deal today, October 16, saying that it provides Syngulon with worldwide access to ERS’s CRISPR/Cas9 IP for use in combination with Syngulon’s patent rights.

Belgium-based Syngulon develops original genetic technologies using bacteriocins, otherwise known as anti-microbial peptides.

“Genome-editing has many applications beyond drug discovery and development, and making the CRISPR/Cas9 patents available to synthetic biology startups such as Syngulon is a growing and important part of our business,” said Eric Rhodes, CEO of ERS, based in Dublin.

Philippe Gabant, co-founder of Syngulon, added that by combining modern genetics with synthetic biology, Syngulon is developing its collection of bacteriocins to fight contaminants in different industrial applications.

“Syngulon out-licenses its patented technologies on a non-exclusive basis and will be able to sub-license ERS’s CRISPR/Cas9 patents as part of a joint licensing agreement thus enabling its licensees to benefit from the use of CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing in implementing Syngulon’s technologies using bacteriocins,” he added.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

News of the deal comes just a month after ERS signed one CRISPR licensing agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific, covering products, tools and services for research, and expanded another—which is directed to the supply of CRISPR-modified cell lines—with Oxford Genetics. Both agreements were also non-exclusive.

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