Editas Medicine Announces U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Grants the Broad Institute Priority Benefit in CRISPR Interference
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Editas Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq: EDIT), a leading genome editing company, announced today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a decision in an interference between the University of California, the University of Vienna, Emmanuelle Charpentier (CVC) and the Broad Institute, Inc. (Broad) regarding certain Broad CRISPR/Cas9 patents Editas Medicine exclusively licenses. The USPTO granted Broad’s motion for priority benefit while denying CVC priority benefit to its two earliest provisional patent applications. As a result, Broad will enter the priority phase of the interference as “Senior Party” while CVC remains the “Junior Party” for purposes of determining which entity was the first to invent the inventions at issue.
“We are pleased with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision, granting Broad’s motion for priority benefit. We look forward to the proceedings, and we remain confident in our foundational patent portfolio that we in-license from the Broad Institute. While these proceedings are ongoing and will take time, we believe the outcome will ultimately be positive for the Broad Institute and their innovative and fundamental work on CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing,” said Cynthia Collins, President and Chief Executive Officer, Editas Medicine.
The Broad patents continue to be valid and in force. Foundational claims covering the use of CRISPR/Cas9 for gene editing in eukaryotic cells have also issued to Broad as patents in each of the United States, Australia, Europe, Japan, China and other jurisdictions.
About Editas Medicine
As a leading genome editing company, Editas Medicine is focused on translating the power and potential of the CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cpf1 (also known as Cas12a) genome editing systems into a robust pipeline of treatments for people living with serious diseases around the world. Editas Medicine aims to discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialize transformative, durable, precision genomic medicines for a broad class of diseases. For the latest information and scientific presentations, please visit .
Forward-Looking Statements
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