Synthego Announces Invalidation of Agilent Patents in CRISPR Dispute

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 17, 2023, Synthego Corp., a leading provider of genome engineering solutions, has announced a victory in its dispute with Agilent Technologies, Inc., regarding two of Agilent’s patents which have been invalidated today by a ruling of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The PTAB ruled in favor of Synthego’s petitions seeking to invalidate Agilent’s US Patents Nos. 10,337,001 (the ’001 patent) and 10,900,034 (the ’034 patent) in the Inter Partes Review before the PTAB.

The PTAB's decision invalidates all claims of the Agilent patents, which were directed to guide RNAs having at least one 2’-O-methyl modification (‘034 patent) and guide RNAs having certain modifications within 5 nucleotides of their 5’ and/or 3’ end (‘001) patent), as well as methods of using such modified guide RNAs for CRISPR gene editing.

Synthego is pleased with the PTAB's ruling, which paves the way for continued innovation in the field of CRISPR-enabled research and therapeutics. By delivering cutting-edge genome engineering solutions, Synthego empowers researchers and contributes to the advancement of CRISPR genomic medicines.

"This decision by the PTAB is a major victory for the entire CRISPR-enabled research and therapeutics field," stated Paul Dabrowski, CEO of Synthego. "The ruling confirms that the invalidated Agilent patents attempted to claim well-known modifications to guide RNAs already taught by prior art. It is a win for researchers and, ultimately, for patients."