Thermo Fisher Scientific Expands Genome Editing IP Portfolio

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., the world leader in serving science, has licensed CRISPR technologies from the Broad Institute and ERS Genomics (foundational University of California IP) to bolster its genome editing intellectual property (IP) portfolio. Under the terms of the licenses, Thermo Fisher is granted global non-exclusive rights to products, tools and services for research. “As one of the most enabling technology platforms in the life sciences today, genome editing holds the promise to further unravel the function of DNA elements and genes and to set in motion the development of new drugs and therapies, including cell therapies,” said Helge Bastian, vice president and general manager of synthetic biology at Thermo Fisher. “These licenses expand our industry-leading genome editing capabilities and demonstrate our continued commitment to enabling our customers to unleash the technology’s full potential in their research programs.”

When combined with previous licenses from ToolGen, Inc., Thermo Fisher now holds one of the most complete CRISPR IP portfolios. This supports an industry-leading CRISPR product line that includes Invitrogen TrueCut Cas9 Protein v2.0, Invitrogen TrueGuide Synthetic gRNAs and Invitrogen LentiArray CRISPR Libraries. In addition to its CRISPR IP portfolio, Thermo Fisher also holds exclusive rights to the Tal Effector Nuclease (TALEN) IPportfolio. The powerful TALEN genome editing technology complements CRISPR, enabling Thermo Fisher to provide a wide selection of product and service solutions to help customers advance their research programs. “The combination of CRISPR and TALEN technologies provides a complete genome editing toolbox that moves researchers closer to the promise of delivering on the potential of synthetic biology,” said Jon Chesnut, Thermo Fisher’s senior director of R&D for synthetic biology. – Medical Buyer Bureau