TAL-effector nuclease: Issuance by the USPTO of Two New Patents - Cellectis provides its customers TALEN™ product under license of these patents to easily achieve any genome engineering projects.
Published on May 16, 2013
New Brighton, May 16, 2013 – Cellectis (NYSE PA: ALCLS), the global genome engineering specialist, announced the issuance by the USPTO on May 14th, 2013 of two new US patents (US 8,440,431 and US 8,440,432) directed to TAL-effector nucleases.
As a leader in the genome engineering industry, the molecules produced by Cellectis have been distributed to prestigious laboratories over the world under the trademark TALENTM. The technology provides to researchers tools and comprehensive solutions to edit genes efficiently in all cell types. TALENTM product represents the next generation gene-editing tool, it is an easy, fast and powerful technology for gene knock-out, knock-in and any targeted modifications of genomes. TALENTM product opens up whole new areas of life science research and therapeutics.
As early as 2011, the Cellectis Group has established a strong partnership with the University of Minnesota and the Iowa State University on this technology. Cellectis, which was the first company to industrialize the production and commercialize TAL-effector nucleases, is particularly active on the US market.
The inventors of both patents are Pr. Daniel Voytas, from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Adam Bogdanove from the Iowa State University and Dr. Feng Zhang who serves as Chief Operating Officer of Cellectis Plant Sciences in New Brighton (MN), a subsidiary dedicated to applying sequence-specific nucleases in plants for agricultural biotechnology applications. Pr. Daniel Voytas is also the Chief Scientific Officer of Cellectis Plant Sciences.
TALEN™ products are the next step technology of synthetic biology. Cellectis, which retains all exclusive rights on the patents owned by University of Minnesota and the Iowa State University, is able to provide to its clients efficient solutions to edit any gene in any cell type in 4 weeks: human, animal, algae, plant, as well as in viral and bacterial DNA.
Pr. Daniel Voytas said that “thanks to its technology, Cellectis develops easy and ready-to-use tools for genome customization enabling the engineering of cells with optimized features for drug discovery, gene function studies and industrial biotechnology.”
TALEN™ are commercialized through Cellectis bioresearch, the commercial subsidiary of Cellectis.