Merck bags US Patents for Foundational CRISPR-Cas9 Technology

These latest allowances cover Merck's CRISPR-Cas9 cleavage and integration technology, which allows researchers to replace a disease-associated mutation with a beneficial or functional sequence, or delete such a mutation, commonly referred to as "knock-in" and "knock out," critical methods for the creation of disease models and development of gene therapy.

These grants mark the 25th and 26th CRISPR patents worldwide belonging to Merck and the third and fourth in the U.S. The company has CRISPR patents granted in Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Israel, Singapore, and South Korea with related patent filings in Brazil, India, and Japan.

The company develops technologies in a range of genome-editing applications, including gene knockout, gene integration, and CRISPR libraries for genetic screens. Merck received its first U.S. patent in February 2019 for its proxy-CRISPR technology, which makes genome editing more efficient, flexible, and specific.

Merck and The Broad Institute announced their collaboration agreement for CRISPR patent licensing in July 2019.

The company recognizes that genome editing has resulted in major advancements in biological research and medicine. At the same time, the growing potential of genome-editing technologies has led to scientific, legal, and societal concerns.

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