Editas Medicine Appoints Cynthia Collins CEO

8/7/19

Cynthia Collins

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Editas Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq: EDIT), a leading genome editing company, today announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously appointed Cynthia (Cindy) Collins, a 30-plus year industry veteran currently serving as the Company’s interim CEO as President and Chief Executive Officer. Cindy will also continue to serve as a member of the Company’s Board.

“Following a comprehensive search process, the Board is delighted to welcome Cindy permanently to Editas Medicine. She is a dynamic, proven leader with extensive experience in gene and cell medicines, growing biotech companies, and a track record of disciplined execution. Cindy is the ideal person to continue leading Editas Medicine towards our EM22 goals while bringing new medicines, new partnerships, and significant value to the Company,” said James C. Mullen, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “The Board and I are confident she is the right person to harness the Company’s strong positive momentum and lead the Company into the future.”

“We have limitless potential at Editas Medicine, and it is an honor to have the opportunity to lead the Company and help deliver on the promise of genome editing and our mission to make medicines for people living with serious diseases,” said Cynthia Collins, President and CEO, Editas Medicine. “I am excited to work with the talented, committed Editas Medicine team and build on our past accomplishments and positive momentum as we continue to execute the EM22 goals that guide the Company today.”

Collins added, “In the near-term, we are focused on initiating patient dosing in our clinical trial of EDIT-101 for patients with LCA10, moving closer to the clinic with EDIT-301 for the treatment of sickle cell disease, expanding our portfolio through strategic business development, and building our organizational capabilities to scale for growth.”

Cindy is a recognized leader in gene and cell medicines, molecular diagnostics, life sciences, and therapeutics. Prior to joining Editas, Cindy served as the CEO of Human Longevity, Inc. She also served as the CEO/GM of the Cell Therapy and Lab Business of General Electric’s Healthcare Life Sciences and as the CEO of Clarient Diagnostics, Inc.; as President and CEO of GenVec, Inc., a publicly-traded vaccine and gene therapy company; and as Group Vice President, Cellular Analysis Business of Beckman Coulter with responsibility for its Hematology, Flow Cytometry, and Hemostasis businesses. Prior to Beckman Coulter, she served as President and CEO of Sequoia Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a venture-capital funded company developing antiviral drugs for HIV and HCV.

Cindy received her BS degree in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Urbana and her MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is a member of the board of directors for the ARM Foundation for Cell and Gene Medicine, Triumvira Immunologics, Inc., DermTech, Inc., and Biocare Medical, LLC.

Aboutimage desc for 49 Editas Medicine

As a leading genome editing company, Editas Medicine is focused on translating the power and potential of the CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cpf1 (also known as Cas12a) genome editing systems into a robust pipeline of treatments for people living with serious diseases around the world. Editas Medicine aims to discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialize transformative, durable, precision genomic medicines for a broad class of diseases. For the latest information and scientific presentations, please visit www.editasmedicine.com.

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