Partnership provides Medicines Discovery Catapult access to CRISPR gene editing technology across a broad range of drug discovery applications 

Dublin, Ireland, and Cheshire, UK: ERS Genomics Limited (‘ERS’), the CRISPR licensing Company, and Medicines Discovery Catapult (‘MDC’), an independent, not-for-profit drug discovery innovation centre, have signed a non-exclusive commercial-use CRISPR license agreement. The partnership combines ERS’s CRISPR/Cas9 patent portfolio with MDC’s world-class expertise and technology.

MDC and its partners will benefit from access to ERS’ entire CRISPR/Cas9 portfolio – the foundational CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property held by Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier. This will extend MDC’s ability to provide breakthrough products and services that help de-risk drug discovery, drive sector productivity and attract investment.

The agreement adds gene editing to MDC’s already strong research and commercial capabilities in cellular science and biomarkers. MDC and ERS believe the partnership will lead to the development of unique drug discovery tools and unlock insights that will drive faster, more effective drug discovery research in the UK and beyond.

Professor Chris Molloy, CEO of Medicines Discovery Catapult, commented: “At MDC, we are always looking for the right partnerships to drive innovation across our community, helping them bring medicines to market faster for patient benefit. This agreement with ERS Genomics offers huge potential for entrepreneurial scientists. By using the CRISPR/Cas9 portfolio with our world-class expertise and technologies, we can deliver more breakthroughs together.”

John E Milad, CEO, ERS Genomics, said: “We welcome MDC to our family of licensees. Their extensive network of partners and collaborators across the private and public sectors, including CROs, universities, research institutes, and the NHS, will continue to widen access to CRISPR/Cas9 in drug discovery.”

ERS Genomics provides licensing to CRISPR/Cas9 technology for companies interested in pursuing its use in their commercial programs. Comprising 100+ patents globally, ERS’ portfolio encompasses CRISPR/Cas9 usage in all cells, including bacteria, archaea, yeasts, and algae. ERS Genomics licenses these patents via its direct license from Emmanuelle Charpentier and now has nearly 150 licenses in place worldwide.

About ERS Genomics www.ersgenomics.com

ERS Genomics provides access to the foundational CRISPR/Cas9 CVC intellectual property held by Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, a license to which is essential for freedom to operate commercially with CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Non-exclusive licenses are available for research and sale of products and services across multiple fields including research tools, kits and reagents; discovery of novel targets for therapeutic intervention; cell lines for discovery and screening of novel drug candidates; GMP production of healthcare products; companion animal and livestock health; production of industrial materials such as enzymes, biofuels and chemicals; and synthetic biology. For additional information please visit www.ersgenomics.com.

About Medicines Discovery Catapult www.md.catapult.org.uk/

Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) is an independent, not-for-profit innovation centre for drug discovery and part of the Catapult Network established by Innovate UK.

MDC’s vision is to reshape drug discovery for patient benefit by transforming great UK science into better treatments through partnership. It supports drug discovery innovators by making world-class expertise, facilities, complex technologies and advanced analytics accessible to enable successful medicines discovery.

MDC develops pioneering, impactful R&D collaborations across biotech, academia, technology companies, charities, and global pharma. It brings these communities together in active, focused national programmes that target high-risk areas of patient need.

In doing so, MDC helps to create a thriving UK drug discovery sector and translates the best of UK science into the best new treatments for the benefit of patients worldwide.

For more information, please visit https://md.catapult.org.uk/.