genOway, the biotechnology company dedicated to the development of genetically modified animal models reports that it has filed a legal action against Cellectis SA and brings attention to the following details.
Indeed, to develop several genetically modified animal models and 'tailor-made' models for its clients, genOway is using, among a panel of other technologies, one specific 'Knock-in' homologous recombination technology. For the use of this technology, genOway, holds since 2001 a nonexclusive license agreement granted by the French company Cellectis acting in its capacity as the main licensee of Institut Pasteur, owner of the patents related to this technology. This renewable agreement falls due in September 2009.
Cellectis has recently decided to modify its sales strategy and started to contact several genOway's clients to propose them to enter directly into license agreements whereas genOway's license was precisely intended to allow it to provide its clients with a safe and fast solution where Intellectual Property was cleared up at genOway's level for any use of the model supplied by genOway in the research area -biological phenomena understanding and active substance sifting- (excluding any use of the models for production -such as recombinant proteins- or for therapeutic purposes -such as cell therapy-, working fields where genOway doesn't intervene). In this context, Cellectis also tried to terminate genOway's license before its official term and contest genOway's rights.
genOway contests firmly Cellectis' position in justice and claims several millions euros for compensation.
Despite the fact that Cellectis' technology remains relevant, it's important to underline (1) the patents filed by Cellectis in 1989 are about to become part of the public domain (March 2010) in Europe and Japan (worldwide except USA), (2) several independent technologies of genes replacement have been developed since 1989.
The licensing agreement signed in 2001 (whose financial conditions paid by genOway were decreased in 2004) falls due in September 2009 and allows genOway's customers to use the genetically animal models in the field of pharmaceutical research: target study and compound sifting.