Biotech and chemical producer agree CRISPR license
ERS Genomics and chemical specialist Evolva have signed a non-exclusive licence agreement which will provide Evolva with access to ERS' CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technique. The technology will be used in the engineering of yeast and fungi as ingredients for human and animal health, food and drink, plus other industrial uses.
DUBLIN & REINACH, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ERS Genomics Ltd and Evolva (SIX:EVE), a leader in fermentation-based approaches to specialty chemicals, announced today a non-exclusive license agreement which provides Evolva with worldwide access to ERS’ CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing intellectual property for use in engineering yeast and fungi for production of ingredients for human and animal health, wellness and nutrition, food and beverages, and other industrial applications. ERS Genomics holds rights to the foundational CRISPR-Cas9 patent portfolio from Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, an inventor of the breakthrough gene-editing technology.

“Genome editing has many applications beyond drug discovery and development and making the CRISPR-Cas9 patents available to industrial biotechnology leaders such as Evolva is a growing and important part of our business. We are thus very pleased to include them in our expanding portfolio of licensees,” said Eric Rhodes, CEO of ERS Genomics.

“By combining modern genetics with traditional brewing, Evolva tries to overcome some of the challenges in producing natural ingredients for commercial use. Evolva uses proprietary technologies and is committed to gain access to complementary platforms that allow us to enhance the properties of the ingredients we produce, as well as their economics,” commented Neil Goldsmith, CEO of Evolva.

Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier’s research unveiled the key components and mechanisms of the CRISPR-Cas9 system, leading to the landmark publication with Jennifer Doudna, (Jinek et al., 2012), which laid the foundation for the use of CRISPR-Cas9 as a highly versatile and precise genome editing tool.

Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

About ERS Genomics

ERS Genomics was formed to provide broad access to the foundational CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property held by Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier. Non-exclusive licenses are available for research and sale of products and services across multiple fields including: research tools, kits, reagents; discovery of novel targets for therapeutic intervention; cell lines for discovery and screening of novel drug candidates; GMP production of healthcare products; production of industrial materials such as enzymes, biofuels and chemicals; and synthetic biology. For additional information please visit www.ersgenomics.com.

About Evolva

Evolva solves the supply chain issues of nature through a 21st century mix of biotechnology and brewing. We develop, make and sell natural ingredients that provide significant benefits to people in daily life, but whose supply chain issues have limited their use until now. Our flagship ingredients are stevia, nootkatone and resveratrol, but we work on many more, both on our own behalf and with others. To make our world sustainable requires nature and technology to work together as one, and our aim is to play a (small) part in achieving this transformation. We operate internationally. For more information, see www.evolva.com. Questions about our approach? Have a look at our video.

This press release contains specific forward-looking statements, e.g. statements including terms like believe, assume, expect or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and those explicitly or implicitly presumed in these statements. Against the background of these uncertainties readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The company assumes no responsibility to update forward-looking statements or to adapt them to future events or developments.