Dublin, Ireland
April 8, 2026
ERS Genomics Limited (‘ERS’), the CRISPR licensing company, notes the decision of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) on 26 March 2026 reaffirming its earlier determination regarding priority of invention for CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing for use in eukaryotic cells.
The Board issued its decision following remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in May 2025, which had instructed the PTAB to reconsider its 2022 determination under the appropriate legal standard. The decision relates only to a discrete set of 14 U.S. patent applications. Unaffected by this decision are more than 60 other granted U.S. patents and more than 40 non-U.S. patents held by the CVC group.
ERS Genomics continues to provide global access to the CVC group’s foundational CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property, comprising more than 100 patents granted worldwide with over 1,400 issued claims. This includes European patent EP 4 289 948, granted in early 2025, which contains broad independent claims covering single guide RNAs, modified DNA-targeting RNAs, and their use in combination with Cas9. The CVC portfolio also includes extensive issued patents in the United States and other major jurisdictions covering core compositions and methods of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing across all cell types.
John E. Milad, Chief Executive Officer of ERS Genomics, said:
“While we note the Board’s decision, this does not alter the strength, scope or global relevance of the CVC CRISPR/Cas9 patent portfolio. Our licensees continue to benefit from access to one of the most comprehensive and widely granted foundational CRISPR patent estates in the world. Our granted patents in the U.S. and globally remain the bedrock of CRISPR/Cas9 IP, with broad claims for use in all cell types across a wide range of applications. The CVC estate remains one of the strongest and most broadly granted foundations for CRISPR/Cas9 innovation.”
“ERS Genomics remains committed to providing responsible access to this transformative technology, providing researchers and innovators around the world with clarity and confidence.”
ERS will continue working closely with the CVC institutions as they evaluate all available options, including potential further review of this decision. In parallel, ERS’ licensing programmes remain fully operational and available to organisations across research and commercial fields outside direct human therapeutics.
The company’s Express License and Early Access Express License continue to provide streamlined access to foundational CRISPR/Cas9 IP for organisations of all sizes.
About ERS Genomics
ERS Genomics provides access to the foundational CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property estate (the ‘CVC Patents’) co-owned by Nobel Laureate Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, who, together with Dr Jennifer Doudna, was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology. The CVC portfolio represents the most comprehensive and widely granted collection of foundational CRISPR/Cas9 patents globally, more than 100 issued patents, including over 50 in the US, encompassing over 1,400 claims across all cell types. The CVC group comprises the Regents of the University of California, the University of Vienna, and Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier.
Derived from a bacterial immune defence system, CRISPR/Cas9 is a precise, efficient tool for editing DNA in living organisms that has transformed research across genetics, biotechnology, and molecular biology.
ERS Genomics offers non-exclusive licenses to the CVC Patents for research and commercial applications outside the direct use of CRISPR as a human therapeutic. These licenses provide essential freedom to operate for organizations working with CRISPR/Cas9 across a wide range of fields, including: life sciences research tools, reagents, and services, discovery of novel therapeutic targets, development of engineered cell lines and animal models for drug screening, bioproduction of antibodies and therapeutic proteins, animal and agricultural biotechnology, synthetic biology, including production of enzymes, food ingredients, and bio-based chemicals.
Current ERS licensees include GSK, Merck, Bayer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Corteva, Danaher, PerkinElmer, Charles River Laboratories, and Cargill. For more information, visit www.ersgenomics.com.
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