Summary
Editas Medicine, Inc., a clinical stage genome editing company, focuses on developing transformative genomic medicines to treat a range of serious diseases. It develops a proprietary gene editing platform based on CRISPR technology. The company develops EDIT-101, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial for Leber Congenital Amaurosis 10 that leads to inherited childhood blindness. It also develops EDIT-102 for the treatment of Usher Syndrome 2A, which is a form of retinitis pigmentosa that also includes hearing loss; autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive form of retinal degeneration; and EDIT-301 to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. In addition, the company is developing gene-edited Natural Killer cell medicines to treat solid tumor cancers; alpha-beta T cells for multiple cancers; and gamma delta T cell therapies to treat cancer, as well as has an early discovery program to develop a therapy to treat a neurological disease. It has a research collaboration with Juno Therapeutics, Inc. to develop engineered T cells for cancer; strategic alliance and option agreement with Allergan Pharmaceuticals International Limited to discover, develop, and commercialize new gene editing medicines for a range of ocular disorders; and research collaboration with Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. to develop a therapy to treat a neurological disease, as well as research collaboration with AskBio. The company was formerly known as Gengine, Inc. and changed its name to Editas Medicine, Inc. in November 2013. Editas Medicine, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
History
In January 2013, a group of prominent scientists co-founded Editas Medicine with the mission of developing transformative medicines using the potential of gene editing. The Company went public in February 2016 and its technology platform uses CRISPR-Cas9, a powerful tool that can precisely edit genes to achieve desired traits. Editas has developed treatments for a variety of genetic diseases, including sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis and hereditary blindness.
Mission
At Editas Medicine, we’re on a mission to develop transformative medicines that can edit genes as easily as editing a sentence. Our goal is to help eradicate genetic disease and make healthcare more accessible and affordable.
Vision
Editas Medicine’s vision is to bring gene-editing medicine to patients in need, by focusing on developing and delivering highly precise gene-editing medicines to treat serious, life-threatening genetic diseases.
Key Team
Dr. Bruce E. Eaton Ph.D. (Exec. VP & Chief Bus. Officer)
Dr. Gilmore O'Neill (Pres & CEO)
Dr. Feng Zhang Ph.D. (Co-Founder & Scientific Advisory Board Member)
Dr. George McDonald Church Ph.D. (Co-Founder & Scientific Advisory Board Member)
Dr. J. Keith Joung M.D., Ph.D. (Co-Founder & Scientific Advisory Board Member)
Dr. David R. Liu Ph.D. (Co-Founder & Scientific Advisory Board Member)
Mr. Harry R. Gill III (Sr. VP of Operations)
Recognition and Awards
In 2019, Editas Medicine was awarded the Scrip Award for Best Biotech Investment Strategy of the Year. The company also won the 2019 prize for Best Research and Development Program, and the Editas CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing platform was awarded the 2019 prize for Best Scientific Breakthrough of the Year.
References
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