Sigma-Aldrich licenses CRISPR patents from Broad Institute

Sigma-Aldrich has agreed a non-exclusive agreement for the use of CRISPR/Cas technology covered under patents held by the Broad Institute of Massachussets Institute of Technology and Harvard University.

Under the terms of the deal, the company's Sigma Life Science business will be able to make, use and distribute the advanced gene editing tools for a wide variety of potential research applications.

These include the generation of modified plant and animal models, custom cell line creation and for CRISPR/Cas arrayed and pooled genetic screening. Sigma-Aldrich is already the exclusive distributor of the Broad Institute's complete Mission shRNA and ORF libraries.

Following this agreement, the firm will be able to pair its lentiviral manufacturing core competency and genome editing expertise with CRISPR to create the next generation of screening tools.

Shaf Yousaf, vice-president of technology and business development at Sigma-Aldrich, said: "This is an important step in our long-running research partnership with the Broad Institute. We share the Broad's passion for leading the way in research with new ideas and tools."

This follows the launch of the company's high-fidelity Sigma CRISPR paired nickases, for use in gene editing applications, earlier this year.