KeyGene's directed genomic selection strategies patent upheld by European Patent Office after opposition

February 22, 2018, KeyGene announced that its European Patent EP 2813141 entitled ”Directed strategies for improving phenotypic traits”, was upheld after oral proceedings at the European Patent Office. The patent, granted August 5, 2015, is part of KeyGene’s accelerated molecular breeding estate and protects methods for improving phenotypic traits of interest in crops or animals.

In contrast to existing approaches in Genomic Selection, the patented methods use genomic insights and clever mathematics to exploit the full potential of a population to improve these traits. KeyGene’s patent represents the first European patent granted in the field of Genomic Selection and broadens its patent estate of enabling technologies for crop improvement.

Prof. Dr. Roeland van Ham, Vice-President Bioinformatics and Modelling of KeyGene states: “We see that Genomic Selection is increasingly becoming the method of choice for improving complex traits in crops, thanks to our current capabilities of high-resolution genotyping. We are pleased with the confirmation of our invention in this emerging field and with which we are committed to offer our clients the most powerful methods available in molecular crop breeding.”