Merck KGaA secures CRISPR patent in China
China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has granted Merck KGaA a patent covering its CRISPR technology used in a genomic-integration method for eukaryotic cells.
The patent covers integration of an external DNA sequence into the chromosome of eukaryotic cells.
This means that scientists can “replace a disease-associated mutation with a beneficial or functional sequence—a method important for creating disease models and gene therapy”, according to Merck KGaA.
With a 13-year history in the genome-editing field, Merck KGaA has related patent filings for its “insertion CRISPR method” in the US, Brazil, India and Japan.
The company also has had similar key patents granted in Australia, Canada, Europe, Israel, Singapore and South Korea.
In June last year, LSIPR reported that Merck KGaA had been granted its first CRISPR technology patent by the Australian Patent Office.
Udit Batra, member of the Merck KGaA executive board and CEO of life science, said: “Including China, we have received seven crucial patents for our foundational CRISPR technology, which defines an exciting new path for medical research and treatments for some of the toughest medical conditions, including cancer, hereditary and rare diseases.”
The company is actively licensing its integration patents for therapeutic use, basic science research and agricultural biotechnology.
Merck KGaA made the announcement on Monday, April 23.
In May last year, Merck KGaA revealed that it had developed an alternative CRISPR genome-editing method called proxy-CRISPR. The company has filed several patent applications on this technology.
According to the company, the proxy-CRISPR technique can cut previously unreachable cell locations, making CRISPR more efficient, flexible and specific, and giving researchers more experimental options.
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