Merck Secures CRISPR Paired Nickase Patents in Japan and Singapore, Expanding Global IP Portfolio to 22

Darmstadt, Germany, November 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading technology company Merck (Merck) announced today that the Japan Patent Office and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore have both approved the company’s patent applications for paired CRISPR nickases, bringing Merck’s global portfolio of related patents to 22.

Wu Boda, Member of the Merck Executive Committee and CEO of the Life Science Business SectorUdit Batra) stated: “Paired nickases represent a significant step toward reducing off-target effects in gene editing through a highly flexible and efficient approach, thereby enhancing specificity. Merck’s technology improves the ability of CRISPR to repair diseased genes without affecting healthy ones, thus increasing the precision of potential gene therapies.”

These patents pertain to a foundational CRISPR strategy in which two CRISPR nickases target a common genomic locus and work in concert to create double-strand breaks by cleaving opposite strands of the chromosomal DNA. This process may involve the insertion of exogenous or donor sequences, utilizing an integration approach identical to that covered by Merck’s CRISPR patents. The requirement for dual CRISPR binding events significantly reduces the likelihood of off-target cleavage at other sites within the genome.

In addition to Japan and Singapore, Merck holds CRISPR-related patents in the following regions: Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Israel, South Korea, and the United States. The company obtained its first foundational patent involving CRISPR integration in Australia in 2017, and secured its first U.S. CRISPR patent related to proxy-CRISPR in 2019.

For 15 years, Merck has been at the forefront of innovation, with extensive experience spanning from discovery to manufacturing. As both a user and provider of genome editing technologies, Merck supports research in genome editing conducted with careful consideration of ethical and legal standards. The company has established an independent externalBioethics Advisory Panel, primarily to provide guidance for research involving its business operations, including the study or use of genome editing. Furthermore, Merck has clarified the use of in consideration of scientific and societal issues.Scope, providing relevant information on how to use this technology to research and apply promising therapeutic approaches.

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