| · | Alpha-Beta T Cells for Oncology |
Bristol Myers Squibb opting into additional program
Editas Medicine and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) continue to advance alpha-beta T cell medicines for the treatment of solid and liquid tumors. BMS recently opted into an additional gene editing program, further validating the Company’s technology and expertise in engineered cell medicines. This marks the fourth program, one of which has advanced to development candidate status, opted into by BMS in the last twelve months.
Gene Editing Platform
Editas Medicine presented preclinical data at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Genome Engineering: CRISPR Frontiers meeting on its SLEEK gene editing technology. The data demonstrated that SLEEK, which utilizes the Editas-engineered AsCas12a nuclease, resulted in the knock-in of multiple clinically relevant transgenes through a proprietary process that selects for cells containing the knock-in cargo. More than 90 percent knock-in efficiencies were observed in various clinically relevant target cells, including iPSCs, T cells, and NK cells. Additionally, SLEEK may be used to fine-tune the expression levels of transgene cargos, an important attribute of next-generation cell therapy medicines.
The Company also presented preclinical data at the TIDES Oligonucleotide and Peptide Therapeutics Conference demonstrating the editing and manufacturing advantages of the AsCas12a nuclease. Specifically, the data showed that AsCas12a achieves high editing rates across multiple cell types, highly efficient multiplexed editing, single and dual site-specific knock-ins, and has higher intrinsic specificity and sequence fidelity due to its shorter chemically synthesized guide RNA.
Corporate
In September, Editas Medicine appointed Emma Reeve to its Board of Directors and as Chairperson of the Audit Committee. Ms. Reeve is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with more than 25 years of global financial experience across pharmaceutical, medical device, and bio-pharma companies. Most recently, Ms. Reeve served as Chief Financial Officer of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology company, prior to its acquisition by MorphoSys AG in 2021. Prior to Constellation, Ms. Reeve acted as interim Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Controller of Parexel International, a global biopharmaceutical services company. Earlier in her career, Ms. Reeve served as Chief Financial Officer of both Inotek Pharmaceuticals and Aton Pharma. Additionally, she held senior finance and operational roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, and Novartis.
In October, the Company also appointed Bernadette Connaughton to its Board of Directors. Ms. Connaughton is an accomplished pharmaceutical executive with more than 30 years of global strategic, commercial, and biopharmaceutical industry expertise. Ms. Connaughton spent her career at Bristol-Myers Squibb, building a consistent track record of achieving sales growth, improving operational models, and increasing profitability in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. She most recently served as President Intercontinental. In this role, she developed successful, multi-year commercialization strategies for several oncology, virology, and immunology products.
