Additional CRISPR

Patent Office: 1924

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today granted the University of California (UC) and its partners, the University of Vienna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, a new CRISPR-Cas9 patent, bringing the team’s continually expanding patent portfolio to 15.

Jennifer Doudna, co-inventor of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, in 2014, with a model of the complex on her computer screen. (UC Berkeley photo courtesy of Cailey Cotner)

U.S. Patent 10,421,980 covers compositions of certain DNA-targeting RNAs that contain RNA duplexes of defined lengths that hybridize with Cas9 and target a desired DNA sequence. The patent also covers methods of targeting and binding a target DNA, modifying a target DNA, or modulating transcription from a target DNA wherein the method comprises contacting a target DNA with a complex that includes a Cas9 protein and a DNA-targeting RNA.

In the coming months, based on applications allowed by the USPTO, UC’s CRISPR-Cas9 patent portfolio will increase to 18. Together, these patents cover compositions and methods for CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing, including targeting and editing genes and modulating transcription in any setting, such as within plant, animal and human cells.

“With every patent that issues, UC strengthens its position as the leader in CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property in the United States,” said Eldora Ellison, the lead patent strategist on CRISPR-Cas9 matters for UC and a director at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox. “We are steadfast in our commitment to developing a comprehensive patent portfolio that protects the groundbreaking work of the Doudna-Charpentier team on CRISPR-Cas9.” ...

Full news release at https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/09/24/university-of-california-awarded-15th-u-s-crispr-cas9-patent/