Editas Medicine Confirms Federal Circuit Decision to Remand Ongoing CRISPR Patent Interference Back To The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) By The U.S. Court Of Appeals

Editas Medicine, Inc., a gene editing company, announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has issued a decision regarding a patent dispute related to CRISPR/Cas9 technology. The court affirmed part of the earlier ruling made by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), vacated another part, and sent the matter back to the PTAB for additional review. This patent interference case involves the use of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in human cells and is between the University of California, the University of Vienna, and Emmanuelle Charpentier on one side, and the Broad Institute on the other.

Editas clarified that this legal decision does not affect the company’s in-licensed patents related to CRISPR/Cas12a, as these patents are not part of the current interference proceedings. The company’s foundational intellectual property includes a portfolio of issued patents that cover key aspects of both CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cas12a gene editing technologies in human cells. The ability to successfully edit human cells is essential for the development of CRISPR-based medicines.

Gilmore O’Neill, M.B., M.M.Sc., President and Chief Executive Officer, Editas Medicine, said in a statement, “We remain confident in the strength of our IP portfolio and that it will continue to generate significant value both now and in the future. This decision does not affect our ability to license our IP, nor does it change existing licenses we have issued. We remain focused on executing on our strategy, which includes licensing this foundational IP and developing transformative gene editing medicines for people living with serious diseases. We remain optimistic that the PTAB will ultimately render a decision in favor of Broad.”

He further added, “Editas holds a large portfolio of foundational U.S. and international patents and is the exclusive licensee of Harvard University’s and the Broad Institute's Cas9 patent estates covering Cas9 use for developing human medicines. It is important to note that only a fraction of these patents are currently involved in these ongoing interference proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).”

In addition to its core patents, Editas holds a wide range of intellectual property that supports its gene editing platform. This includes both general and product-specific patents that cover the use of CRISPR technologies in the United States and internationally, including regions such as Australia, Europe, Japan, and China. The company continues to rely on this robust IP portfolio to support the development of its therapeutic programs.