Can the CRISPR contenders play nice?

Now that a U.S. court has issued a seemingly decisive victory to the Broad Institute in its fight with the University of California, the warring factions of CRISPR have a decision to make: settle this like adults in the short-term, or fight it out for years in a protracted squabble that could affect patient health.

A STAT’s Sharon Begley explains, right now it looks like the Broad will own the key intellectual property around CRISPR in the U.S., while UC will have it in Europe. If the two sides work out a cross-license agreement, then their biotech licensees — Intellia Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, and CRISPR Therapeutics — will be able to continue their work in peace.

But if they balk at the idea of cooperation, it could lead to a worst-case scenario in which a CRISPR-based medicine wins FDA approval but is kept out of patients’ hands because of a contentious legal battle.

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