Billions On The Line In Gene-Editing Patent Case

This week the federal Patent Trial and Appeal Board dove into a biotech case that concerns the fate of billions of dollars in licensing rights. At issue is who owns the rights to the gene-editing advancement known as Crispr, which allows scientists to manipulate the DNA of living organisms with far more precision than ever before. Crispr has already accrued hundreds of millions in investments from pharmaceutical startups. The case is complicated by the U.S. Patent Office’s transition to a “first-to-file” system, which coincided with Crispr patents filed by both bioengineer Feng Zhang and molecular biologist Jennifer Doudna. Though Doudna filed first, Zhang was able to obtain a speedier review, and was issued a patent first.