New England Biolabs® and CasZyme collaborate to enable genome editing applications with novel Cas9 Enzymes

IPSWICH, Mass. and VILNIUS, Lithuania, Dec. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- New England Biolabs, Inc. (NEB^®) and CasZyme, a recently-formed startup company based in Vilnius, Lithuania, announced today that they have entered into a multi-year collaboration to identify and commercialize CRISPR-Cas nucleases, with the goal of providing researchers with additional tools for genome editing and molecular biology applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, CasZyme and NEB will apply their enzymology expertise to identify and characterize Cas nucleases. NEB will then manufacture and make these nucleases commercially available for global distribution.

Ted Davis, Executive Director of Applications and Product Development for NEB, stated: "The scientific founders of CasZyme are pioneers in CRISPR/Cas research, with a significant history of advancing our understanding of key enzymes involved in nucleic acid recognition in the context of bacterial immune systems. We are excited to undertake this joint endeavor that we believe will advance CRISPR/Cas science and enable new applications of Cas9 enzymes in vitro and in vivo."

Monika Kavaliauske, CasZyme's CEO added: "We are extremely pleased to collaborate with New England Biolabs, as we believe that together we can create value for researchers and companies practicing gene editing worldwide. NEB's experience with enzyme discovery and manufacturing will significantly contribute to the success of our business."

With additional Cas nucleases being identified and characterized throughout the microbial world, and a rapid expansion of the genome editing field, this collaboration will provide researchers additional tools with which to employ the CRISPR-Cas system, thereby furthering innovation.

Learn more about genome editing at https://www.neb.com/applications/genome-editing

About NEB

Established in the mid 1970's, New England Biolabs, Inc. (NEB) is the industry leader in the discovery and production of enzymes for molecular biology applications and now offers the largest selection of recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research. NEB continues to expand its product offerings into areas related to PCR and qPCR, gene expression, sample preparation for next generation sequencing, synthetic biology, glycobiology, epigenetics and RNA analysis. Additionally, NEB is focused on strengthening alliances that enable new technologies to reach key market sectors, including molecular diagnostics development. New England Biolabs is privately company, headquartered in Ipswich, MA, and has extensive worldwide distribution through a network of exclusive distributors, agents and subsidiaries located in Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK. For more information about New England Biolabs visit www.neb.com.

About CasZyme

CasZyme is a startup company, based in Vilnius, Lithuania. Company aims to deliver inventions by novel and top quality research activities in the field of CRISPR based Molecular Tools. CasZyme is developing and characterizing new tools in support of CRISPR-Cas gene editing technology research. One of the founders of CasZyme is Prof. Virginius Siksnys, the pioneer of CRISPR-Cas gene editing research and first to demonstrate that CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to operate precise double strand breaks in DNA, thereby enabling a new era of gene editing. More information can be found at http://www.caszyme.com.

SOURCE New England Biolabs, Inc.

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