MIT Technology Review on CRISPR patent, US 8,697,359 inventor Feng Zhang

In a post titled The Harvard-MIT genomic science institute trumpets its claims to an important genome editing technology , the MIT Tech Review talked glowingly about US Patent 8,697,359.

Application 14/054,414 was filed October 15, 2013 and the patent issued April 15, 2014, six months later. The applicants used the accelerated examination procedure (filing an "examination support document" [ESD], as distinct from using the prioritized ["track 1"] procedure.)

The first claim states


A method of altering expression of at least one gene product comprising introducing into a eukaryotic cell containing and expressing a DNA molecule having a target sequence and encoding the gene product an engineered, non-naturally occurring Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)--CRISPR associated (Cas) (CRISPR-Cas) system comprising one or more vectors comprising: a) a first regulatory element operable in a eukaryotic cell operably linked to at least one nucleotide sequence encoding a CRISPR-Cas system guide RNA that hybridizes with the target sequence, and b) a second regulatory element operable in a eukaryotic cell operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a Type-II Cas9 protein, wherein components (a) and (b) are located on same or different vectors of the system, whereby the guide RNA targets the target sequence and the Cas9 protein cleaves the DNA molecule, whereby expression of the at least one gene product is altered; and, wherein the Cas9 protein and the guide RNA do not naturally occur together.




Claim 8 is to a system


An engineered, non-naturally occurring CRISPR-Cas system comprising one or more vectors comprising: a) a first regulatory element operable in a eukaryotic cell operably linked to at least one nucleotide sequence encoding a CRISPR-Cas system guide RNA that hybridizes with a target sequence of a DNA molecule in a eukaryotic cell that contains the DNA molecule, wherein the DNA molecule encodes and the eukaryotic cell expresses at least one gene product, and b) a second regulatory element operable in a eukaryotic cell operably linked to a nucleotide sequence encoding a Type-II Cas9 protein, wherein components (a) and (b) are located on same or different vectors of the system, whereby the guide RNA targets and hybridizes with the target sequence and the Cas9 protein cleaves the DNA molecule, whereby expression of the at least one gene product is altered; and, wherein the Cas9 protein and the guide RNA do not naturally occur together.





The first paragraph of the summary of invention states:


There exists a pressing need for alternative and robust systems and techniques for sequence targeting with a wide array of applications. This invention addresses this need and provides related advantages. The CRISPR/Cas or the CRISPR-Cas system (both terms are used interchangeably throughout this application) does not require the generation of customized proteins to target specific sequences but rather a single Cas enzyme can be programmed by a short RNA molecule to recognize a specific DNA target, in other words the Cas enzyme can be recruited to a specific DNA target using said short RNA molecule. Adding the CRISPR-Cas system to the repertoire of genome sequencing techniques and analysis methods may significantly simplify the methodology and accelerate the ability to catalog and map genetic factors associated with a diverse range of biological functions and diseases. To utilize the CRISPR-Cas system effectively for genome editing without deleterious effects, it is critical to understand aspects of engineering and optimization of these genome engineering tools, which are aspects of the claimed invention.





A news report from the Independent included the text:


"Crispr is absolutely huge. It's incredibly powerful and it has many applications, from agriculture to potential gene therapy in humans," Craig Mello of the University, of Massachusetts Medical School, who shared the 2006 Nobel prize in medicine, told The Independent in November. "It's a tremendous breakthrough with huge implications for molecular biology and molecular genetics. It's a real game-changer."



IPBiz notes the MIT Tech Review is not always spot-on in recognizing good technology; from an earlier IPBiz post:


IPBiz notes the following commentary by the same MIT Technology Review on the fraudulent work of Jan Hendrik Schon:

Hendrik Schön is reinventing the transistor at the place it was born. He and his Bell Labs coworkers have produced single-molecule transistors whose electrical performance is comparable to that of today’s best silicon devices but which are hundreds of times smaller. Making such molecular transistors, which could lead to ultrafast, ultrasmall computers, has been a goal of researchers for years; Schön’s clever design established Bell Labs as a leader in the race. But Schön is not interested in simply reinventing the transistor. He wants to change the very materials that form microelectronics,replacing inorganic semiconductors with organic molecules. Schön has made an organic high-temperature superconductor, renewing hopes that superconductors could have widespread electronic applications. He also helped devise the first electrically driven organic laser, which could mean cheaper optoelectronic devices. The soft-spoken Schön recalls being “very surprised” by how well his molecular transistors worked. But it won’t be a surprise if Schön helps transform microelectronics.





Of course, it would be a surprise if the fraudulent work of Schon transformed anything. And where is Bell Labs now?

Separately,
http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2007/03/have-scientific-journals-learned-from.html