Viewpoint: CRISPR licensing for gene-edited agriculture is booming — just not where you’d expect

Pairwise, the CRISPR gene-editing company built on row crops like corn and soybeans, is now finding its fastest growth elsewhere. As AgFunderNews’ Elaine Watson reports, the company has quietly built a licensing business spanning 25 companies and more than 30 species, from cherries and cacao to livestock and insects.

One License, Many Crops

Pairwise’s Fulcrum platform bundles DNA targeting, gene deletion, and base editing into one agreement, sparing licensees from stacking separate patents. “You don’t have to get multiple licenses. We’re offering one-stop shopping,” said Ian Miller, Pairwise’s chief operating officer.

Recent partners include Mars (cacao), Sun World International (pitless cherries, a project the SLP has followed), CSIRO (livestock and aquaculture), and IITA (yam breeding in Africa). Miller also credits friendlier rules abroad, including Europe’s simplified framework for gene-edited plants: “I think there’s an understanding that in many cases, what comes out from gene editing is equivalent to conventional breeding.”

Related on the SLP

Next-generation gene-editing technology: Path to a second Green Revolution? Mars’ M&Ms and Snickers may soon produce its chocolate candies from cacao gene edited to withstand plant diseases and extreme heat

Viewpoint: Dubious environmental fears: Why the AI buildout is critical to America’s ecological future

Vitamin D, omega-3 fish oil and glucosamine supplements could cause brain damage 

Child-monitoring apps: When the cure is worse than the harm—and how the technology could be tweaked

With roughly as many prospects still in talks, Pairwise is betting CRISPR’s next big payoff comes from crops the ag biotech industry has long overlooked.

Related on the SLP CRISPR pitless cherries are on the horizon

Read the original article here