Daiichi Sankyo Licenses ERS Genomics’ CRISPR Gene Editing Tech

Japan-based pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo has signed a license agreement with Ireland-based biotechnology company ERS Genomics for ERS Genomics’ CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing technology intellectual property for use in internal R&D. The agreement was announced on Jan. 13, 2020, and financial terms were not disclosed. 

ERS Genomics holds an exclusive worldwide license to the foundational intellectual property covering CRISPR/Cas9 for all applications except for use as a human therapeutic. Under the agreement, Daiichi Sankyo is able to use CRISPR technology to support its R&D initiatives to address areas of unmet medical need.

“Daiichi Sankyo is our first large pharma licensee in Japan. CRISPR/Cas9 is revolutionary in genome editing; we look forward to observing how the company applies the technology to further advance its R&D operations,” said Eric Rhodes, CEO of ERS Genomics, in a company press release.