5 ms·

From what I understand (from a PhD in biotech), the price for utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 is extraordinary. So much so that only multi-million dollar labs can afford

From what I understand (from a PhD in biotech), the price for utilizing CRISPR/Cas9 is extraordinary. So much so that only multi-million dollar labs can afford to use it in any meaningful quantity. The price "per reaction" is in the thousands.

zzalpha 11y ago
Any insight into the source of those costs?
- leeoniya 11y ago
  licensing the tech, plus no competition = charge what the market will bear http://labiotech.eu/crispr-patent-war-end-discovery-new-editing-protein-cas9/ http://labiotech.eu/crispr-patent-war-end-discovery-new-edit...
  - zzalpha 11y ago
    So patents. That was going to be my guess. So in 20 years it'll be pretty cheap. Meanwhile, China and other parts of the world that happily ignore patents will use the technology without restriction.
    - mentat 11y ago
      There's a common sci-fi theme about China being way ahead in the future. I've never heard a plausible explanation in book but ignoring patents is a really interesting angle.
      - CamperBob2 11y ago
        That's how it always works. Early American industrialists weren't exactly diligent at paying royalties to British and continental European patent holders... and now it's China's turn to prosper by doing the same thing to us. More power to them. Patents are a racket that governments run against their own people, exclusively for the benefit of a very few inventors and a whole lot of lawyers.
    - ultramancool 11y ago
      You're not even kidding, they've already been experimenting with it on human embryos and creating modified dog breeds. Have a look: http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-scientists-genetically-modify-human-embryos-1.17378 http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-scientists-genetically-mo... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11943103/Chinese-scientists-create-designer-dogs-by-genetic-engineering.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11943103/Chinese-...
    - themartorana 11y ago
      "However, like every biotech revolution, there then follows a patent war." But hey, continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results sounds like the righteous path.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
speeder 11y ago
More or less... but it might be a country thing. I am from Brazil, and my sister, and a lab partner of hers are the first persons in Brazil to develop and use a local version of CRISPR, the bugdet of their lab is not that big, and finding reagents was a bit difficult, but not too much, but I think maybe her lab didn't have to pay all the patent licenses, I am not sure. My sister is currently at MIT learning direct from the source (it was invented at MIT) how to do "real" CRISPR (in the sense that the Brazillian version was made by her and another lab mate reading papers and replicating them, it worked, but in a inconsistant manner, sometimes it worked perfectly, sometimes it failed for no obvious reason, the Brazillian government then decided to pay to send my sister to MIT so she can learn how to do it properly and then come back and teach the others here).
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
greeneggs 11y ago
This quote, from a Nature news article, suggests otherwise: > Biologists have long been able to edit genomes with molecular tools. About ten years ago, they became excited by enzymes called zinc finger nucleases that promised to do this accurately and efficiently. But zinc fingers, which cost US$5,000 or more to order, were not widely adopted because they are difficult to engineer and expensive, says James Haber, a molecular biologist at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. CRISPR works differently: it relies on an enzyme called Cas9 that uses a guide RNA molecule to home in on its target DNA, then edits the DNA to disrupt genes or insert desired sequences. Researchers often need to order only the RNA fragment; the other components can be bought off the shelf. Total cost: as little as $30. “That effectively democratized the technology so that everyone is using it,” says Haber. “It’s a huge revolution.” [1] [1] http://www.nature.com/news/crispr-the-disruptor-1.17673 http://www.nature.com/news/crispr-the-disruptor-1.17673
88e282102ae2e5b 11y ago
It's worth drawing the distinction between academic and commercial users, as academics don't have to pay the licensing fees. You can get the plasmid for $65 [1], which is basically all you need (other than some cheap reagents and some standard lab equipment). [1] https://www.addgene.org/42230/ https://www.addgene.org/42230/

zzalpha 11y ago

Any insight into the source of those costs?

leeoniya 11y ago
licensing the tech, plus no competition = charge what the market will bear http://labiotech.eu/crispr-patent-war-end-discovery-new-editing-protein-cas9/ http://labiotech.eu/crispr-patent-war-end-discovery-new-edit...
- zzalpha 11y ago
  So patents. That was going to be my guess. So in 20 years it'll be pretty cheap. Meanwhile, China and other parts of the world that happily ignore patents will use the technology without restriction.
  - mentat 11y ago
    There's a common sci-fi theme about China being way ahead in the future. I've never heard a plausible explanation in book but ignoring patents is a really interesting angle.
    - CamperBob2 11y ago
      That's how it always works. Early American industrialists weren't exactly diligent at paying royalties to British and continental European patent holders... and now it's China's turn to prosper by doing the same thing to us. More power to them. Patents are a racket that governments run against their own people, exclusively for the benefit of a very few inventors and a whole lot of lawyers.
  - ultramancool 11y ago
    You're not even kidding, they've already been experimenting with it on human embryos and creating modified dog breeds. Have a look: http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-scientists-genetically-modify-human-embryos-1.17378 http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-scientists-genetically-mo... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11943103/Chinese-scientists-create-designer-dogs-by-genetic-engineering.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11943103/Chinese-...
  - themartorana 11y ago
    "However, like every biotech revolution, there then follows a patent war." But hey, continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results sounds like the righteous path.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

speeder 11y ago

More or less... but it might be a country thing. I am from Brazil, and my sister, and a lab partner of hers are the first persons in Brazil to develop and use a local version of CRISPR, the bugdet of their lab is not that big, and finding reagents was a bit difficult, but not too much, but I think maybe her lab didn't have to pay all the patent licenses, I am not sure. My sister is currently at MIT learning direct from the source (it was invented at MIT) how to do "real" CRISPR (in the sense that the Brazillian version was made by her and another lab mate reading papers and replicating them, it worked, but in a inconsistant manner, sometimes it worked perfectly, sometimes it failed for no obvious reason, the Brazillian government then decided to pay to send my sister to MIT so she can learn how to do it properly and then come back and teach the others here).

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

greeneggs 11y ago

This quote, from a Nature news article, suggests otherwise: > Biologists have long been able to edit genomes with molecular tools. About ten years ago, they became excited by enzymes called zinc finger nucleases that promised to do this accurately and efficiently. But zinc fingers, which cost US$5,000 or more to order, were not widely adopted because they are difficult to engineer and expensive, says James Haber, a molecular biologist at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. CRISPR works differently: it relies on an enzyme called Cas9 that uses a guide RNA molecule to home in on its target DNA, then edits the DNA to disrupt genes or insert desired sequences. Researchers often need to order only the RNA fragment; the other components can be bought off the shelf. Total cost: as little as $30. “That effectively democratized the technology so that everyone is using it,” says Haber. “It’s a huge revolution.” [1] [1] http://www.nature.com/news/crispr-the-disruptor-1.17673 http://www.nature.com/news/crispr-the-disruptor-1.17673

88e282102ae2e5b 11y ago

It's worth drawing the distinction between academic and commercial users, as academics don't have to pay the licensing fees. You can get the plasmid for $65 [1], which is basically all you need (other than some cheap reagents and some standard lab equipment). [1] https://www.addgene.org/42230/ https://www.addgene.org/42230/