Oxford Nanopore signs CRISPR licence – Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review

UK-based Oxford Nanopore has obtained a licence to CRISPR-Cas9 IP for nanopore sequencing, a third-generation approach used in the sequencing of biopolymers.

Oxford Nanopore, which specialises in DNA/RNA sequencing technology, announced the non-exclusive licence agreement with biotech company Caribou Biosciences yesterday, September 19.

Caribou was founded by scientists from the University of California, Berkeley, including CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna.

Gordon Sanghera, CEO of Oxford Nanopore, said: The Cas9 technique will enable users to select and isolate the regions of the genome they are most interested in, including those not available to existing methods, ready for rapid analysis using our long-read, real-time sequencing technology.

According to the company, Cas9 enrichment with Oxford Nanopore sequencing enables scientists to cost-effectively sequence targeted regions that were not accessible previously.

Sanghera added: The entire library preparation process takes less than two hours so if combined with our portable sequencer MinION, this has the potential to open up fast-turnaround, near-sample testing in new ways.

In October last year, Amgen invested 50 million ($66 million) in Oxford Nanopore, as part of Amgens focus on using human genetics to deliver new medicines to patients.

Earlier in 2018, Oxford Nanopore announced it had raised 100 million from global investors, to be used to support the companys next phase of commercial expansion, including a new high-tech manufacturing facility in Oxford.

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Oxford Nanopore, CRISPR-Cas9, Caribou Biosciences, Jennifer Doudna, gene-editing, genetics, nanopore, University of California,

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Oxford Nanopore signs CRISPR licence - Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review