“I would be surprised, bluntly, if [a lawsuit] does not get filed by the end of this year,” Professor Jacob Sherkow told Politico about the patent battle over CRISPR technology. When the FDA issued approval for the therapy in sickle cell cases, it granted approval to companies that do not hold licenses for CRISPR. As Sherkow explained, the Broad Institute holds the U.S. patent on editing human cells with CRISPR and can sue companies that don’t have licenses for their patents for infringement as soon as a new product comes on the market, which is certain to happen following FDA approval. 

Read more from Sherkow on this complicated patent dispute at Politico.