Cellectis announces positive outcome in IP battle

Biocitech, France, February 21st, 2008 - Cellectis SA announced today that the European patent EP 419 621 (on a gene targeting process involving homologous recombination) has been maintained following a hearing before the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office on January 23rd, 2008.

"This decision reinforces our patent portfolio, demonstrates the latter's solidity and strengthens our position in the US, European and Japanese markets, where a growing number of players are seeking engineered cells and animals for their development activities", commented David Sourdive, VP Corporate Development at Cellectis.

Likewise, the US patents (6 528 313, 6 638 768 & 6 528 314), Japanese patents (3059481, 3298842 & 3298864) and European patents (419 621 & 682 112) granted to Institut Pasteur have been maintained, despite the numerous oppositions lodged by Cellectis' competitors. Cellectis holds the exclusive rights to these patents, which cover all DNA integration processes, whether via:

- insertion of regulatory sequences that can modify the expression of an endogenous gene.

- insertion of coding sequences so as to place the desired protein in a defined recipient genomic location (whether active or not), in order to obtain a full and functional recombinant gene via the natural process of homologous recombination.
"A major strength of our patent portfolio is that it enables the substitution of a mouse gene by a reporter gene or by its human counterpart

- a process referred to as 'humanization' ", added David Sourdive.

Humanized mice generated from the learnings obtained from Institut Pasteur patents are being used throughout the pharmaceutical industry to validate drug targets, test the efficacy and safety of monoclonal antibodies and develop high-affinity therapeutic antibodies.

Global companies such as AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Genentech, Merck & Co, Pfizer, Shire, Deltagen, Lexicon, Regeneron and TransGenic (among others) are using these technologies and have obtained sub-licenses from Cellectis.

In fact, the underlying invention (generated from research at the Institut Pasteur) is one of gene "knock-in" or gene activation (i.e. the insertion, at a precise genomic location, of a foreign functional element) and has given rise to a huge boom in genetic engineering. For example, "knock-in" of a LacZ reporter gene is recognized at the standard for gene targeting by the prestigious US National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the Knock-Out Mouse Project (KOMP).

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