(Research Triangle Park, N.C.) Precision BioSciences, Inc., a leader in the field of genome engineering, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application 13/246,380 (“the ‘380 Application”). The allowed claims relate to an array of genome engineering methods, including the use of certain engineered meganucleases in plant cells. These methods encompass a key facet of Precision’s DNE genome engineering technology.

The allowance of the claims of the ‘380 Application follows Precision’s recently allowed claims from U.S. Patent Applications 13/245,607 and 13/245,596 and further enhances Precision’s ability to protect its proprietary DNE technology, aspects of which are already protected under claims of Precision’s U.S. Patent No. 8,021,867 (“the ‘867 Patent”). Precision announced in October 2011 that it has asserted the ‘867 Patent against Cellectis SA in a lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

“The allowance of these claims, along with those claims recently allowed in our other applications will serve as a strong foundation of our patent estate,” stated Todd Melby, Precision BioSciences’ COO and CFO. “We believe that these claims are forming an increasingly deep and broad moat around our method for site-specific genome engineering in cells.”

About Precision BioSciences

Precision BioSciences’ mission is to continually provide, improve, and enable the world’s most powerful genome engineering technology. Precision’s proprietary Directed Nuclease EditorTM (DNE) technology enables the production of genome editing enzymes that can insert, remove, modify, and regulate essentially any gene in mammalian or plant cells.

Precision BioSciences’ vision is to be the conduit through which the world’s greatest genome engineering challenges are solved. Precision has successfully utilized its DNE technology to create innovative products in partnerships with many of the world’s largest biopharmaceutical, agbiotech, and animal research firms. Internally, Precision is developing applications of DNE in biological production and human therapeutics. For additional information, please visit www.precisionbiosciences.com.