Editas Medicine Explained

Editas Medicine, Inc.
Former Name:Gengine, Inc.
Type:Public
Founded:, in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Hq Location City:Cambridge, Massachusetts
Hq Location Country:United States
Num Locations:2
Areas Served:-->
Revenue Year:2022
Income Year:2022
Net Income Year:2022
Assets Year:2022
Equity Year:2022
Owners:-->
Num Employees:226
Num Employees Year:2023
Footnotes:[1]

Editas Medicine, Inc., (formerly Gengine, Inc.), is a clinical-stage biotechnology company which is developing therapies for rare diseases based on CRISPR gene editing technology.[2] [3] Editas headquarters is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and has facilities in Boulder, Colorado.[4] [5] [6]

History

Editas Medicine was originally founded with the name "Gengine, Inc." in September 2013 by Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute, Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley,[7] and George Church, David Liu, and J. Keith Joung of Harvard University, with funding from Third Rock Ventures, Polaris Partners and Flagship Ventures; the name was changed to the current "Editas Medicine" two months later. Doudna quit in June 2014 over legal differences concerning intellectual property of Cas9.[8] [9]

In August 2015, the company raised $120 million in Series B funding from Bill Gates and 13 other investors.[10] [11] it went public on 2 February 2016,[2] via an initial public offering that raised $94 million.[12] [13]

The company entered into a strategic collaboration with Juno Therapeutics in 2015 to combine its CRISPR-Cas9 technology with Juno's experience in creating chimeric antigen receptor and high-affinity T cell receptor therapeutics to the end of developing cancer therapeutics.[14] Juno was later acquired by Celgene,[15] which was in turn acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb.[16]

The company announced in 2015 that it was planning a clinical trial in 2017 using CRISPR gene editing techniques to treat Leber congenital amaurosis type 10 (LCA10), a rare genetic illness that causes blindness.[17] [18] On 30 November 2018, the FDA gave permission to start the trials, under the investigational name EDIT-101 (also known as AGN-151587).[19] [20] In September 2021, a statement from Editas claimed that preliminary results from clinical trials were promising and support clinical benefits of EDIT-101 treatment.[21]

In March 2020, Editas, in partnership with Allergan, was the first to use CRISPR to try to edit DNA inside a person's body (in vivo). As part of the clinical trial, a patient who was nearly blind as a result of Leber's congenital amaurosis received an intravitreal injection containing a harmless virus carrying CRISPR gene-editing instructions.[22] [23] Five months later, Editas reworked its deal with Allergan's owner AbbVie and regained full rights to their range of eye disease treatment therapies, including EDIT-101 for the treatment of LCA10.[24]

In 2019, the company was building new chemistry facilities in Boulder, Colorado.[5]

Katrine Bosley was CEO until 2019, when she was replaced by board member Cynthia Collins.[25] [26] Collins was replaced in 2021 by James Mullen, who had been board chairman.[27] Gilmore O'Neill, former CMO of Sarepta Therapeutics, became CEO on June 1, 2022, with Mullen staying on as executive chairman of the board.[28]

Research

Editas works with two different CRISPR nucleases, Cas9 and Cas12a.[29]

EDIT-101 is a CRISPR based gene therapy for treatment of Leber congenital amaurosis, which is currently in clinical trials.

EDIT-301 is an experimental potential treatment utilizing the firm's CAS 12a editing technology for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. In 2019 the firm reported early success in research on the drug;.[30] [31] In December 2020, it filed an IND application for treatment of sickle cell disease. In January 2021, it said it had received clearance from the FDA for phase 1 safety studies.[32]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K) . February 22, 2023 . U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  2. 10 Feb 2016. The week in science: 5–11 February 2016. Nature. 530. 7589. Business: CRISPR goes public. 10.1038/530134a. 2016Natur.530..134.. free.
  3. News: Editas Wins FDA Approval for IND of CRISPR Treatment for LCA10 . 20 August 2020 . Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News . 30 November 2018.
  4. News: Werley. Jensen. 5 September 2019. How Boulder biotech companies are putting Colorado on the gene-editing map. Denver Business Journal. 27 October 2020.
  5. News: Symington . Steve . Editas Medicine Remains on Track . 20 August 2020 . The Motley Fool . 20 August 2020.
  6. Web site: Who We Are. 2022-02-25. Editas Medicine. en-US.
  7. News: Rockoff. Jonathan. 2015-06-29. Why Gene-Editing Technology Has Scientists Excited. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2021-05-27. 0099-9660.
  8. Book: Isaacson, Walter. The Code Breaker. Simon & Schuster. 2021. 978-1-9821-1585-2. 209–212. Walter Isaacson.
  9. Web site: Biotech pioneer in 'gene editing' launches with $43M in VC cash. FierceBiotech . John Carroll . Nov 25, 2013.
  10. News: Nowogrodzki . Anna . Gene-Editing Startup Raises $120 Million to Apply CRISPR to Medicine . 12 August 2020 . MIT Technology Review . 10 August 2015.
  11. News: Loria. Kevin. 12 April 2018. Bill Gates says it would be a 'tragedy' to pass up a controversial, revolutionary gene-editing technology. Business Insider.
  12. News: Pflanzer. Lydia. 2 February 2016. A Bill Gates-backed startup that wants to edit your genes just raised nearly $100 million. Business Insider.
  13. News: Fidler . Ben . CRISPR Hits Wall Street as Editas Bags $94M in IPO . 12 August 2020 . Xconomy . 2 February 2016.
  14. Juno, Editas Launch Up-to-$737M+ Cancer Therapy Collaboration. 27 May 2015. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. 2016-02-11.
  15. News: Celgene to Buy Juno Therapeutics for $9 Billion. Lombardo. Cara. 2018-01-22. Wall Street Journal. 2018-01-22. en-US. 0099-9660.
  16. https://news.bms.com/press-release/corporatefinancial-news/bristol-myers-squibb-completes-acquisition-celgene-creating-le Bristol-Myers Squibb Completes Acquisition of Celgene, Creating a Leading Biopharma Company
  17. News: Kuchler. Hannah. 6 January 2020. Crispr puts first human in-body gene editing to test. Financial Times.
  18. Web site: CRISPR Gene Editing to Be Tested on People by 2017, Says Editas. Regalado. Antonio. 2015-11-05. MIT Technology Review. 2016-06-21.
  19. 7 April 2020. First CRISPR therapy dosed. Nature. 38. 4. 382. 10.1038/s41587-020-0493-4. 32265555. free.
  20. Sheridan. Cormac. 14 December 2018. Go-ahead for first in-body CRISPR medicine testing. Nature. 10.1038/d41587-018-00003-2. 91818387 . 21 December 2018.
  21. Web site: 29 September 2021. Editas Medicine Announces Positive Initial Clinical Data From Ongoing Phase 1/2 BRILLIANCE Clinical Trial Of EDIT-101 For LCA10. live. 5 November 2021. Editas Medicine. https://web.archive.org/web/20210929204833/https://ir.editasmedicine.com/news-releases/news-release-details/editas-medicine-announces-positive-initial-clinical-data-ongoing . 2021-09-29 .
  22. News: Stein . Rob . In A 1st, Scientists Use Revolutionary Gene-Editing Tool To Edit Inside A Patient . 12 August 2020 . NPR . 4 March 2020.
  23. News: Terry . Mark . Allergan and Editas Dose First Patient in Historic CRISPR Trial for Inherited Blindness . 12 August 2020 . BioSpace . 4 March 2020.
  24. News: Fidler . Ben . Editas, AbbVie rework gene editing deal as pioneering CRISPR trial resumes . 12 August 2020 . BioPharma Dive . 7 August 2020.
  25. News: Dearment. Alaric. 22 January 2019. Editas Medicine CEO steps down as company moves into product development stage. MedCity News. 12 August 2020.
  26. News: DeAngelis. Allison. 6 August 2019. Editas became Cindy Collins. CEO. Boston Business Journal.
  27. 8 February 2021. Editas Medicine Announces Appointment Of James C. Mullen As Chief Executive Officer. Editas Medicine.
  28. News: Keown . Alex . Gilmore O'Neill "Excited" to Take the Reins at Editas Medicine . 2 June 2022 . BioSpace . 14 April 2022.
  29. Pickar-Oliver. Adrian. Gersbach. Charles A.. August 2019. The next generation of CRISPR–Cas technologies and applications. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. en. 20. 8. 490–507. 10.1038/s41580-019-0131-5. 31147612. 1471-0080. 7079207.
  30. News: Rees. Victoria. 20 June 2019. Experimental treatment for sickle cell disease success. Drug Target Review. 20 August 2020.
  31. News: Wong. Sandi. 10 December 2019. Editas shows better gene editing using Cas9 alternative for sickle cell, thalassemia. BioCentury. 20 August 2020.
  32. Web site: Carvalho. Joana. FDA Clears Way for Trial of Gene Editing Therapy for Severe SCD. 21 January 2021 . 2021-03-29. en-US.

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