Japan and Singapore Grant CRISPR Patents to MilliporeSigma

MilliporeSigma today announced that the Japan Patent Office and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore have each allowed its patent application for the use of paired CRISPR nickases, bringing MilliporeSigma’s number of patents to 22 worldwide.

“Paired nickases represent a significant step in increasing specificity through a highly flexible and efficient approach to reduce off target effects in gene editing,” said Udit Batra, CEO, MilliporeSigma. “MilliporeSigma’s technology improves CRISPR’s ability to fix diseased genes while not affecting healthy ones, therefore improving the accuracy of potential gene therapy treatments.”

These patents cover a foundational CRISPR strategy in which two CRISPR nickases are targeted to a common gene target and work together by nicking or cleaving opposite strands of a chromosomal sequence to create a double-stranded break. This process can optionally include an exogenous or donor sequence for insertion in the same manner as MilliporeSigma’s patented CRISPR integration technology. The requirement of two CRISPR binding events greatly reduces the chances of off-target cutting at other locations in the genome.

In addition to Japan and Singapore, MilliporeSigma has CRISPR-related patents in the following regions: Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Israel, South Korea and the U.S. MilliporeSigma was awarded its first foundational patent in Australia covering CRISPR integration in 2017, and its first U.S. CRISPR patent for proxy-CRISPR in 2019.

MilliporeSigma has been at the forefront of innovation in the field for 15 years, with experience spanning from discovery to manufacturing. MilliporeSigma supports research with genome editing under careful consideration of ethical and legal standards. MilliporeSigma’s parent company, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, established an independent, external Bioethics Advisory Panel to provide guidance for research in which its businesses are involved, including research on or using genome editing. The company has also defined a clear operational position considering scientific and societal issues to inform promising therapeutic approaches for use in research and applications.

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