CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 08, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Editas Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq: EDIT), a leading genome editing company, today announced that James (Jim) C. Mullen will succeed Cynthia (Cindy) Collins as Chief Executive Officer, effective February 15, 2021. Mr. Mullen will continue as Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors.

“On behalf of the entire Board, I thank Cindy for her tremendous contributions and dedication to Editas Medicine,” said James C. Mullen, Chairman, Editas Medicine. “Under Cindy’s leadership, the Company initiated the EDIT-101 clinical trial – the first ever administration of an in vivo gene editing medicine in humans, filed an IND for EDIT-301 which the FDA cleared to initiate clinical trials, recovered the rights to the ocular programs and pipeline, and expanded the pre-clinical pipeline. Cindy has positioned Editas to achieve its long-term goals and deliver the potential of gene editing medicines to patients.”

Mr. Mullen continued, “It is an honor to be appointed to lead Editas into the next phase of growth. I look forward to joining such an innovative and committed team as we advance our strategy and work to develop and deliver transformative, durable gene edited medicines to people living with serious diseases.”

Ms. Collins said, “It has been a privilege to lead Editas Medicine and this extremely talented team. I am particularly proud of the progress to the clinic we have made with both in vivo and ex vivo gene edited medicines. I look forward to seeing Editas continue to develop the future of gene edited medicines and succeed on making these medicines for patients around the world.”

Mr. Mullen has served as chairman of the Board of Directors of Editas Medicine since March 2018. Mr. Mullen previously served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of Patheon N.V., a pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization, until its acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., in August 2017. Prior to joining Patheon, Mr. Mullen served as the president and Chief Executive Officer of Biogen, Inc., one of the world's largest biotechnology companies. Mr. Mullen held various operating positions at Biogen prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer, including Chief Operating Officer, Vice President, International, and Vice President, Operations. Mr. Mullen serves on the board of directors of Thermo Fisher Scientific. He also previously served as Chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. Mr. Mullen received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. from Villanova University.

About 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.