CRISPR in Canada is owned by Merck
The Patent Office of Canada will approve Merck's patent application for CRISPR technology
The leading scientific and technological company Merck reported that the Canadian Patent Office has provided a "Decision to grant a patent" in respect of a patent application filed by Merck for the CRISPR technology developed by it, used for genomic integration into eukaryotic cells.
"Our portfolio of international patents continues to expand, providing comprehensive patent protection for our CRISPR technology as we deepen our cooperation with the global scientific community in order to find treatments for various diseases," said Udit Batra, member of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of Megsc for Biomedical Sciences.
This decision by the Canadian Patent Office is an important recognition of Merck's role in advancing genomic editing technologies."
Merck has filed patent applications for the CRISPR method in the USA, Brazil, China, India, Israel, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
The upcoming Canadian patent entitled "GENOMIC MODIFICATION AND REGULATION BASED ON CRISPR TECHNOLOGY" covers the processes of chromosomal integration or cutting of the chromosomal sequence of eukaryotic cells (for example, mammals and plants), followed by the inclusion of an external or donor DNA sequence using CRISPR. Thanks to this method, scientists can replace a disease-related mutation with a useful or functional sequence, which is extremely important for creating disease models and gene therapy. In addition, scientists can use this method to include transgenes that mark an endogenous protein for visual tracking in cells.
After the official issuance, the Canadian patent will become the first patent protection tool for CRISPR integration technology in North America, which will further optimize Merck's patent portfolio. The Australian Patent Office granted the company the first patent for CRISPR in June 2017, after which – in September of this year – a similar patent was obtained by the European Patent Office.
CRISPR genomic editing technology, which allows precise modification of the chromosomes of living cells, contributes to the development of treatments for some of the most complex medical conditions to date. The scope of CRISPR is very extensive – from the identification of genes associated with cancer and rare diseases to the reversal of mutation processes leading to blindness.
Merck, with a 12-year history, was the first to offer special biomolecules for genomic editing (RNA-guided introns of group II TargeTron and zinc finger nucleases CompoZr), thereby contributing to the introduction of these technologies by researchers around the world. Merck also became the first manufacturer of ordered CRISPR libraries covering the entire human genome, thereby speeding up the search for a cure for diseases and giving scientists the opportunity to study the root causes of their occurrence more deeply.
In May 2017, Merck announced an alternative method of CRISPR genomic editing called proxy CRISPR. Unlike other systems, this technology allows cutting previously inaccessible genomic sequences, making CRISPR a more efficient, flexible and specific process and providing researchers with additional opportunities for experiments. Merck has filed several patent applications for CRISPR proxy technology, and these applications are just the latest of numerous petitions for CRISPR patent protection filed by the company since 2012.
Merck is aware of the potential benefits of properly conducting genomic-edited research that demonstrates truly revolutionary medical perspectives, and therefore supports the conduct of such research, provided that all ethical and legal norms are carefully observed. The company has established the Merck Bioethics Advisory Commission, which provides recommendations and guidelines for research in which the company participates, including with the use of genomic editing methods.
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