Precision BioSciences，Syngenta Expand Genome Engineering Partnership

Precision BioSciences, Inc., the genome editing company, recently revealed that it has been working with Syngenta to develop advanced agricultural products using the first fully-synthetic genome editing technology. Researchers at Syngenta have successfully used engineered nucleases based on Precision’s proprietary ARCUS™ technology to insert genes of interest into desired locations in the corn genome with unprecedented efficiency. The use of this technology provides plant researchers with a powerful and efficient new method for accelerating the development of greatly needed agricultural products.

The ARCUS platform is Precision’s newest genome editing technology and is the result of a multi-year internal R&D program devoted to developing a next-generation editing technology with both the target site flexibility of a TALEN or CRISPR and the high selectivity of a Meganuclease. The ARCUS-derived nucleases were found to be highly effective, leading to an extension of the Precision-Syngenta collaboration.

“We are thrilled by the results that Syngenta has achieved using our new ARCUS platform,” said Derek Jantz, Precision BioSciences co-founder and Vice President of Scientific Development. “They have an exceptional R&D team and we look forward to building on that relationship into the future. While we are hesitant to draw too many conclusions at this point, early results from partners like Syngenta suggest that ARCUS represents a significant step forward in the field of genome editing.”