Editas to reduce about 65% of its workforce over the next six months (updated)

Crispr Therapeutics AG

12/12/2024 22:56

(Adds shares in paragraph 2, background in paragraphs 3-5,
details on costs in paragraphs 10 and 11)
       Dec 12 (Reuters) - Editas Medicine  EDIT.O  said on
Thursday it would cut around 180 jobs, representing 65% of its
workforce, over the next six months as part of the company's
transition towards becoming a developer of therapies that edit
genes within the body.
    Shares of Editas rose 2.12% to $1.93 in after-market trade.
    Editas is shifting focus to developing in-vivo treatments
that edit stem cells inside the human body after recent
pre-clinical data showed promise in blood-forming stem cells and
the liver, and plans to share data and development timelines in
the first quarter of 2025.
    In-vivo gene editing, which alters genetic material within
the patient, could expand the potential of CRISPR-based gene
editing, Editas said.
    The company said it aims to demonstrate proof of concept in
humans in about two years.
    The gene editing company was earlier developing an ex-vivo
treatment for sickle cell disease called reni-cel, which used a
similar technology as that of Casgevy, the U.S.-approved gene
therapy by Vertex Pharmaceuticals  VRTX.O  and partner CRISPR
Therapeutics  CRSP.BN .
    Both gene therapies involved editing a patient's
blood-forming stem cells outside the body using CRISPR, a
promising technology that is a type of molecular scissors that
can trim away unwanted pieces of genetic material and replace
them with new ones.
    The company would be discontinuing development of reni-cel
after extensive search did not yield a commercial partner.
    As part of the company's workforce reduction, several
members of its management team will depart, including Chief
Medical Officer Baisong Mei, effective Dec. 31.
    It expects to incur costs of $55 million to $70 million for
discontinuing and winding down reni-cel's clinical development.
    Editas anticipates costs of $14 million to $18 million
related to the workforce reduction.
    The cost-saving measures are expected to extend Editas' cash
runway into the second quarter of 2027.

 (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna
Chandra Eluri)
 ((Sriparna.Roy@thomsonreuters.com;))