Ireland
28 January 2025
Dear Stakeholders,
As we step into 2025, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the remarkable progress we’ve made in the CRISPR landscape over the past year and look ahead to the opportunities before us. The achievements of 2024 have underscored CRISPR’s growing significance across industries and have reinforced ERS Genomics’ central role in expanding access to this transformative technology.
A Year of Milestones
The momentum behind CRISPR reached a new high in December 2023 with the FDA’s landmark approval of the world’s first CRISPR therapy, Casgevy (exagamglogene autotemcel). Offering a potentially curative “one-and-done” treatment for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, this groundbreaking therapy ushers in a new era—one fundamentally shaped by the pioneering discoveries of Nobel Laureates Prof Emmanuelle Charpentier, founder of ERS Genomics, and her collaborator Prof Jennifer Doudna.
Meanwhile, 2024 proved to be a banner year for ERS Genomics. We welcomed 17 new licensees spanning diverse industries, and in our last quarter alone, we added seven more. Among these was a major multinational biotech company in China, underscoring the worldwide demand for our CRISPR licensing solutions. With over 150 licences now in place, we remain deeply committed to our mission of expanding global access to CRISPR, while making sure innovation and responsible stewardship go hand in hand.
Evolving Science and Patent Landscape
CRISPR-based technologies continue to evolve in exciting directions. New approaches, such as RNA bridging and “CRISPR-GPT,” are extending both the breadth and the power of CRISPR, enabling new possibilities in research, therapeutics, and beyond.
Breakthrough technologies like CRISPR often bring with them a complex patent landscape. In 2024, the CVC Group—co-owners of the foundational CRISPR patents licensed by ERS Genomics—made the strategic decision to voluntarily revoke their EP’811 and EP’400 patents. This tactical gambit was a response to a preliminary opinion from the European Patent Office (EPO) Board of Appeal that diverged from earlier rulings by the EPO Opposition Division. Combined with procedural concerns, this divergence in legal interpretation prompted the CVC Group to withdraw the patents pre-emptively—a common tactic in navigating global intellectual property challenges.
CVC’s European patent portfolio remains robust, anchored by EP’749 granted in 2023, which provides broad protection for both single and dual-guide RNAs used in CRISPR/Cas9. Furthermore, on January 16, 2025, the European Patent Office issued an intention to grant the divisional patent application EP4289948A. The ‘948 patent includes independent claims covering single guide RNAs, modified DNA-targeting RNAs and the combination of guide RNAs with Cas9. As noted in a recent IAM article, the newly granted divisional patent contains “very broad claims,” underscoring the strength of the CVC Group’s position, which the publication described as “one of the most important CRISPR patent-owners in Europe.”
Across the globe, CVC Group’s CRISPR/Cas9 portfolio remains extensive and essential, encompassing more than 130 patents and applications worldwide and over 1,400 notable claims. Crucially, these patents cover all uses of CRISPR-Cas9 in any cell or organism—making the need for a license from ERS Genomics as important as ever.
Industry Insights and Future Directions
Earlier this month, I attended the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, where the energy around life sciences and technology were palpable. Despite global economic and political uncertainties, the prevailing view was that 2025 will offer substantial growth opportunities. The streets of San Francisco, transformed by driverless Waymo taxis and dotted with unoccupied commercial spaces, served as a vivid reminder of the rapid and sometimes unpredictable nature of innovation and disruption.
This dynamism is particularly pronounced at the intersection of AI and CRISPR. We believe the fusion of digital and biological tools will only deepen, with AI-driven CRISPR platforms accelerating the creation of refined, scalable gene-editing libraries. It’s increasingly evident that AI and CRISPR are two of the most transformational technologies of our time, with CRISPR already established as the “go-to” tool for gene editing in biopharma, while still expanding into other industries. The field of synthetic biology, which harnesses bioorganic pathways for industrial applications, stands poised to unlock everything from more efficient production processes to entirely new classes of materials. The possibilities are seemingly endless, and we look forward to seeing these cross-industry collaborations thrive.
Expanding Access: The Express License
In January, we introduced our non-exclusive Express License & Express Licensing Platform for internal research use, designed specifically for smaller organizations with fewer than 15 employees and under $10 million in funding. As Prof Charpentier noted, this initiative is an “exciting step forward in democratizing access to the foundational CRISPR/Cas9 IP.” By lowering barriers to entry and simplifying the licensing process, we aim to empower startups and early-stage ventures to explore CRISPR’s potential more quickly and affordably. The early response has been enthusiastic, with several applications already in the pipeline.
Looking Ahead
As we embark on another year, we are profoundly grateful for the trust and collaboration of our partners, licensees and the broader scientific community. Together, we will continue to drive the adoption of CRISPR-Cas9, shaping the future of biopharma, life sciences, and beyond.
Thank you for your ongoing support. Here’s to a 2025 filled with innovation, growth, and shared success.
Sincerely,
John E Milad
Chief Executive Officer
ERS Genomics
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