Precision BioSciences Awarded Broad Meganuclease Patent by the USPTO

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Precision BioSciences, Inc., today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued U.S. Pat. No. 8,021,867 (“the ‘867 patent”). The ‘867 patent is owned by Duke University and exclusively licensed to Precision BioSciences. The ‘867 patent claims engineered meganucleases with altered DNA-cleavage specificity as well as modified DNA-binding affinity and/or modified dimerization properties.

“We are thrilled by the PTO's decision to issue these foundational claims directed towards our engineered meganucleases,” said Jeff Smith, CSO of Precision BioSciences. “It is extremely gratifying to have the core of our DNE meganuclease technology protected by a U.S. patent.”

“We believe that this patent grant strengthens Precision's leadership position in the field of engineered meganucleases,” stated Derek Jantz, VP of Scientific Development at Precision. “We look forward to the continued development and commercialization of greatly needed new technologies and products stemming from our proprietary DNE technology.”

About Precision BioSciences

Precision's mission is to utilize its engineered endonuclease technology to become the world leader in the field of genomic molecular biology. Precision's proprietary Directed Nuclease Editor^TM (DNE) technology enables the production of custom genome editing enzymes that can insert, remove, modify, and regulate essentially any gene in mammalian or plant cells.

Precision BioSciences has already produced hundreds of custom endonucleases for partners and internal development that can precisely alter naturally occurring sequences within genomes. Precision has successfully partnered its DNE technology with several of the world's largest biopharmaceutical, agbiotech, and animal research firms. Internally, Precision is developing applications of DNE in biological production and human therapeutics. For additional information, please visit www.precisionbiosciences.com.