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Arbitration Decision Affirms Intellia Therapeutics’ Interpretation of Licensing Agreement with Caribou Biosciences on the CRISPR/Cas9 Technology
Interim Award concluded all technology in dispute was exclusively licensed to IntelliaParties must negotiate terms and payments to Intellia for Caribou’s use
About this update from Intellia Therapeutics, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Interim Award concluded all technology in dispute was exclusively licensed to IntelliaParties must negotiate terms and payments to Intellia for Caribou’s use of the chemically modified guide RNAs CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTLA) announced today that an arbitration panel issued an Interim Award confirming that certain structural and chemical guide RNA modification technologies were exclusively licensed to Intellia by Caribou Biosciences under the parties’ July 2014 agreement. This Interim Award is subject to additional negotiations between the parties and potentially further arbitration proceedings before it becomes final.\n After concluding that the chemical modification technology was within the scope of Intellia’s exclusive license from Caribou, the arbitration panel noted that its decision could delay or otherwise adversely impact the continued development of these modified guide RNAs as human therapeutics. It also noted that Intellia currently is not using these modified guide RNAs in any of its active programs. For this reason, the panel stated it will declare that Caribou has “leaseback” rights, which it described as exclusive, perpetual and worldwide, to the chemically modified guide RNAs. This “leaseback” only applies to the chemically modified guides and will be subject to terms, including Caribou’s future payments to Intellia, to be negotiated by the parties or, if unsuccessful, to additional arbitration proceedings. The “leaseback” will not include the structural guide modifications intellectual property at issue in the arbitration, any other intellectual property exclusively licensed or sublicensed by Caribou to Intellia under the Caribou license (including but not limited to the foundational CRISPR/Cas9 intellectual property co-owned by University of California, University of Vienna and Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier), or any other Intellia intellectual property. Upon, and subject to the terms of, a final award, which will follow negotiations between the parties and potential further legal proceedings, Caribou would be able to use the modified guide RNAs at issue for human therapeutics. Intellia or Caribou may challenge the arbitration panel’s decisions under limited circumstances. The Interim Award has no impact on any of Intellia’s current programs. Additi...