Carlson Caspers assisted DuPont Pioneer in securing a non-exclusive license to the Broad Institute patent portfolio relating to CRISPR-Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) genome editing technology, as well as negotiating an agreement with Broad on a governance framework and standard licensing terms for the joint out-licensing of CRISPR-Cas9 technology to third parties in certain fields.
Carlson Caspers has led multi-year licensing negotiations for its long-time client, DuPont Pioneer, concerning its in- and out-licensing of CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology.
In addition, Carlson Caspers negotiated an arrangement with Caribou Biosciences that included a 1) cross-license of their respective CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property portfolios, 2) the creation of a multi-year research collaboration to advance genome editing technology platforms, and 3) an equity investment by DuPont Pioneer in Caribou Biosciences.
Carlson Caspers also led negotiations and completed a technology license agreement with ERS Genomics (“ERS”) that granted DuPont Pioneer exclusive rights to the ERS patent portfolio covering CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology in certain fields.
According to DuPont Pioneer’s website, “This ground-breaking technology is expected to help scientists to develop innovative and sustainable solutions for growers similar to those realized through conventional plant breeding practices, but with even greater quality, accuracy and with more efficient development timelines.” DuPont Pioneer is applying CRISPR-Cas as an advanced plant breeding tool to develop seed products for greater environmental resiliency, productivity and sustainability and has defined it as a set of CRISPR-Cas guiding principles.
The Carlson Caspers intellectual property legal team included Brian Hayes, Samuel Lockner, Alexandra Olson and Peter Kohlhepp.