CRISPR Becomes Clearer

In this pivotal year for gene editing, the breakthrough molecular system CRISPR-Cas9 has advanced on three fronts. In under seven months, an influential scientific body-the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine-cracked open the door to human germline gene editing, ownership of patents covering CRISPR-Cas9 came into much sharper focus as a result of a dispute between two parties, and experiments showing proof of concept of the most controversial of uses-altering germlines of humans-were revealed as having been successfully performed by a mainstream laboratory. Given the vast spoils that await the patent owners, final results of all patent disputes over CRISPR-Cas9 patents may stretch on for years. Meanwhile, bioethical considerations of CRISPR-Cas9 have also been contentious as the United States and other countries grapple with how best to regulate gene editing.