CRISPR/Cas9 transforming research, says Charles River CSO

06-Dec-2016 - Last updated on 06-Dec-2016 at 15:00 GMT

The CRO now offers custom in vivo and in vitro genome editing through a licensing arrangement with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. (Image: iStock/ktsimage)

Charles River Laboratories has announced an "end-to-end" service offering of CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering technology, including custom in vivo and in vitro genome editing.

Iva Morse, Corporate Vice President, CSO, Global Research Models and Services at Charles River told us the technology will enable the company to develop more translational research models that ultimately improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the drug discovery process.

The contract research organization (CRO) has also developed partnerships with groups globally for in vivo model creation services, including Mirimus in North America, the Laboratory Animal Resource Center, University of Tsukuba in Japan, and Phenomin ICS in Europe.

“Three years after Zhang’s famous publication of CRISPR-Cas9 based protocols for genome editing in Nature Protocols, CRISPR-Cas9, which arose out of research into how bacteria protect themselves against phages, is transforming how scientists conduct their research,” said Morse.

As Outsourcing-Pharma.com previously reported, Charles River was one of the first companies to publically announce its licensing of CRISPR, though at the time the company released few details on its plans for the technology.

Earlier this year, AMRI also announced it will use the technology to bolster it drug discovery services and internal research and development, as well as Evotec in July.

“Given the speed at which this technology continues to be adopted across a wide range of applications, it holds the potential to soon expand beyond research into the clinic to treat a broad range of human diseases, from cancer to hereditary genetic disorders,” added Morse.