Benson Hill Biosystems Receives Patent for Novel CRISPR Technology

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Benson Hill Biosystems Patent No. 9,896,696 related to CRISPR 3.0 Cms1 genome editing nucleases, further expanding the company's suite of genomics tools to accelerate crop performance improvements.

Benson Hill's genome editing system Edit, powered by CropOStm, enables companies across the agri-food value chain to tap natural genetic diversity as a powerful source of product differentiation to improve the health and sustainability of our food system.  This patent validates the novelty of Benson Hill's CRISPR 3.0 nuclease sequences and their usefulness as an alternative genome editing solution for organizations interested in accessing this technology to accelerate their business goals.

"Benson Hill is dedicated to delivering highly efficient and fully accessible product development solutions for our partners," said Matthew Crisp, CEO and co-founder of Benson Hill Biosystems.  "We're excited about this first patent issuance relating to our CRISPR 3.0 nuclease portfolio, and we are excited to move forward with commercial and research applications of this technology.  We will continue to pursue filings for a pipeline of technologies and applications that provide choice, clarity and confidence to our partners."

The Edit system combines the analytical power of Benson Hill's CropOStm crop design platform with a robust portfolio of diverse genome editing nucleases to create the first comprehensive genome editing system.  Edit is designed to optimize plant characteristics such as flavor profiles, nutrient-density, and environmental sustainability with greater speed and precision than previously possible.

"Consistent with their commitment to empowerment and community, the Benson Hill team has proactively disseminated their CRISPR technologies for research purposes free of charge across academia," said Dr. Tom Brutnell, Director of the Enterprise Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and co-founder of Benson Hill Biosystems.  "This confirmation of the novelty of the CRISPR 3.0 portfolio is an exciting development. It will provide the scientific community with access to a new genome editing technology that will continue to drive innovation to help solve some of the world's greatest challenges." 

With this patent issuance, Benson Hill will further augment its focus on ease of use and accessibility for its partners.  The company will continue to make CRISPR 3.0 freely available for research purposes among the academic and not-for-profit communities and will further expand commercial product development opportunities with partners.  Click here to learn more about the benefits of the novel CRISPR 3.0 genome editing technology.

About Benson Hill Biosystems
Benson Hill empowers innovators with a revolutionary crop design platform to develop healthier and more sustainable crops. Our CropOStm platform combines machine learning and big data with genome editing and plant biology to drastically accelerate and simplify the product development process. More information can be found online at www.bensonhillbio.com. Follow us on Twitter at @BensonHillBio.

SOURCE Benson Hill Biosystems