Kraig
Biocraft Laboratories, Inc. announced recently that the Company has
entered into a licensing agreement with biotechnology giant
Sigma-Aldrich, Inc.
Kraig
has successfully negotiated a license to use Sigma-Aldrich’s powerful
zinc finger technology to accelerate its scientific research and product
development, along with an option to commercialize the resulting
biomaterials in the textile and biomedical fields.
Sigma-Aldrich’s proprietary zinc finger technologies enable precise genetic targeting, according to Kraig’s CEO Kim Thompson.
“We
believe that when these customized tools are delivered by Sigma in the
coming weeks, the technology will enable us to rapidly and precisely
target specific gene sequences for the creation of stronger fibers,
advanced textiles and new bio-materials,” says Thompson.
“ZFN
technology has been revolutionary in genome engineering for various
applications, including animal models of disease, engineering of
biopharmaceutical production systems, academic research and
therapeutics,” said Dr. Joseph Bedell, director of Sigma’s Commercial
Animal Technology Group. He says spider silk production is the first
example of a commercial animal application for this technology.