European Patent Office to Grant Merck’s Patent Application for CRISPR Technology

• PatentapplicationcoversintegrationofanexternalDNAsequenceintothechromosomeofeukaryoticcellsusingCRISPR
• RelatedpatentapplicationrecentlyawardedinAustralia;similarpatentspendinginothercountries,favourableoutcomesanticipated

Darmstadt,Germany,August3,2017 — Merck,aleADIngscienceandtechnologycompany,todayannouncedtheEuropeanPatentOffice(EPO)hasissueda“NoticeofIntentiontoGrant”forMerck’spatentapplicationcoveringthecompany’sCRISPRtechnologyusedinagenomicintegrationmethodforeukaryoticcells.

ThepatentwillprovideMerck’sCRISPRgenomicintegrationtechnologywithbroadprotection,furtherstrengtheningthecompany’spatentportfolio.ArelatedpatentwasapprovedinAustraliainJune2017.Merckanticipatesfavourableoutcomesinothercountriesaswell,becausemanypatentofficesworldwideconsiderthestatusofrelatedEuropeancasestobehighlyrelevanttothedecisiontograntpatents.

“ThisisasignificantandexcitingdecisionbytheEPO,andweviewthisannouncementasrecognitionofMerck’simportantcontributionstothegenome-editingfield,”saidUditBatra,MemberoftheMerckExecutiveBoardandCEO,LifeScience.“ThispatentprovidesprotectionforourCRISPRtechnology,whichwillgivescientiststheABIlitytoadvancetreatmentoptionsforthetoughestmedicalchallengeswefacetoday.”

WithMerck’sCRISPRgenomicintegrationtechnology,scientistscanreplaceadisease-associatedmutationwithabeneficialorfunctionalsequence–amethodimportantforcreationofdiseasemodelsandgenetherapy.Scientistscanalsousethemethodtoinserttransgenestoenablebasicresearch,usingthetechnologytolabelendogenousproteinsforvisualtrackingwithincells,forexample.

ThispatentapplicationisoneofMerck’smultipleCRISPRpatentfilingssince2012.InMay2017,MerckintroducedanalternativeCRISPRgenome-editingmethodcalledproxy-CRISPR.Unlikeothersystems,theproxy-CRISPRtechniqueallowscuttingofpreviouslyunreachablecelllocations,makingCRISPRmoreefficient,flexIBLeandspecific—givingresearchersmoreexperimentaloptions.

Merck,withits14-yearhistoryinthegenome-editingfield,wasthefirstcompanytooffercustombiomoleculesgloballyforgenomeediting(TargeTron™RNA-guidedgroupIIintronsandCompoZr™zincfingernucleases),drivingwidespreadadoptionbyresearchers.IncollaborationwiththeWellcomeTrustSangerInstitute,MerckwasalsothefirstcompanytomanufacturearrayedCRISPRlibrariescoveringtheentirehumangenome,allowingresearcherstoexploremorequestionsaboutdiseaseanddevelopcuresfaster.AvailabilityofarrayedCRISPRlibrariesisanimportantadvancementingenomeeditingandreinforcesthecompany’sleadershipposition.

Thecompanyalsosupportsdevelopmentofgene-andcell-basedtherapeuticsandmanufacturesviralvectors,inadditiontoconductingbasicgenome-editingresearch.In2016,Mercklaunchedaninitiativetoadvanceresearchinnoveltreatmentmodalities,fromgenomeeditingtogenemedicinemanufacturing,throughadedicatedteamandenhancedresources.Thisventurefurthersolidifiesthecompany’scommitmenttothegenome-editingfield.

AboutMerck

Merckisaleadingscienceandtechnologycompanyinhealthcare,lifescienceandperformancematerials.Around50,000employeesworktofurtherdeveloptechnologiesthatimproveandenhancelife–frombiopharmaceuticaltherapiestotreatcancerormultiplesclerosis,cutting-edgesystemsforscientificresearchandproduction,toliquidcrystalsforsmartphonesandLCDtelevisions.In2016,Merckgeneratedsalesof€15.0billionin66countries.

Foundedin1668,Merckistheworld"soldestpharmaceuticalandchemicalcompany.Thefoundingfamilyremainsthemajorityownerofthepubliclylistedcorporategroup.MerckholdstheglobalrightstotheMercknameandbrand.TheonlyexceptionsaretheUnitedStatesandCanada,wherethecompanyoperatesasEMDSEROno,MilliporeSigmaandEMDPerformanceMaterials.