The Regents of the University of California was recently issued a seventh patent in their portfolio of CRISPR-based research. U.S. Patent No. 10,337,029 B2 (‘029) issued on July 2, 2019, for “Methods and Compositions for RNA-Directed Target DNA Modification and for RNA-Directed Modulation of Transcription.” It was issued to inventors Jennifer A. Doudna and Martin Jinek of Berkeley, California, Krzysztof Chylinski, of Vienna, Austria, and Emmanuelle Charpentier of Braunschweig, Germany. The applicants/assignees are The Regents of the University of California, University of Vienna, and Emmanuelle Charpentier. The ‘029 patent shares the same priority date as its family members, May 25, 2012 (35 U.S.C. §119; 35 U.S.C. §120). The specification, similar to its earlier predecessors, describes a process for site-specific modification of a target DNA or polypeptide. Further, it describes the process of modulating transcription of Cas9 protein and a DNA-targeting RNA. The ‘029 disclosure is 244 pages, which includes 30 claims and 128 sheets of drawings (but not including the 1,348 sequences in the sequence listing (MPEP 2420). The ‘029 claims are directed to the methods of cleaving and modifying the binding DNA comprising the Cas9 protein.
The Cooperative Patent Classifications are C12N (microorganisms or enzymes and compositions thereof, namely, stable introduction of foreign DNA into chromosome using homologous recombination in mammalian cells); A01H (new plants or processes for obtaining them, namely, using gramineae or poaceae); A01K (new breeds of animals, namely new breeds of vertebrates); and A61K (preparations for medical, dental, or toilet purposes, namely medical preparations containing peptides hydrolases acting on ester bonds).
The CRISPR-Cas9 technology is revolutionary genome editing for which millions of dollars of academic and institutional research has been invested, and potentially could be billions in licensing and royalty revenue for its patent owners. It continues to represent a vast area for IP asset development.