MVS Client Penn State Licenses Patented CRISPR Technology to Inscripta, Inc.April 7, 2022

MVS is excited to announce that an MVS prosecuted patent, for client Penn State, has been licensed to Inscripta, Inc., a global life science technology company known for their MAD7™ nuclease and digital genome engineering platform, Onyx®.  The licensed patent discloses a proprietary improvement to CRISPR technology, (United States Patent No. 10,308,947), and was written and prosecuted by MVS attorneys.  It is directed to a groundbreaking innovation in CRISPR technology.

CRISPR is a powerful gene-editing tool that uses guide RNA (gRNA) to direct DNA-cutting enzymes to specific regions of DNA, allowing scientists to target and modify an organism’s genome. Penn State professor of plant pathology, Yinong Yang, identified the need for a simpler and more efficient method of simultaneous expression of multiple gRNAs. His lab discovered that a cell’s native processing system for transfer RNA (tRNA) could be “hijacked” and used to create multiple gRNAs capable of directing the CRISPR enzyme to different gene sites simultaneously. This novel method of simultaneous gene targeting and modification is simple and efficient, with a success rate of up to 100%. Virtually all organisms have tRNA-processing systems and this method has already been successfully used to enhance CRISPR genome editing in plants, animals, and humans.

Penn State has already granted an exclusive license for plant-related applications of this technology to Bayer’s Agricultural division and believes that this license to Inscripta will further enhance potential commercial applications to bring this important technology to the marketplace.