Editas Medicine Names Bruce E. Eaton, Ph.D., as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer

Dr. Eaton joined the Company in 2018 and brings more than 30 years of experience to the role

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Editas Medicine Inc. (Nasdaq: EDIT), a leading genome editing company, today announced that Bruce E. Eaton, Ph.D., has been promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer. In his new role, Dr. Eaton oversees the Company’s corporate strategy, business development, and alliance management.

“I am thrilled to announce the promotion of Bruce to Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer. Bruce has been a vital member of our team for many years, driving performance and demonstrating extraordinary leadership. With his deep knowledge of our Company, our science, and our strategy, and his strong relationships, I am confident that Bruce is the right leader in this role to help propel our long-term success,” said James C. Mullen, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Editas Medicine. “I look forward to working closely with Bruce to advance our pipeline and bring more gene editing medicines into the clinic for people living with serious diseases.”

Dr. Eaton has worked alongside Editas Medicine since 2015, first as a consultant, then as a research collaborator, and finally officially joined the Company as Senior Vice President, Chemistry, and Site Head, Boulder, in January 2018 with Editas Medicine’s acquisition of assets from i2 Pharmaceuticals where he was Founder and CEO.

“I believe Editas is poised for substantial growth in its products, technology, and strategic partnerships. We have a cohesive leadership team with a shared vision and commitment to develop the highest quality medicines. With two medicines in the clinic, emphasis on the pipeline strategy, and commensurate commitment to value adding technology, we can set a new pace for the future of gene editing medicines. My team will focus on adding value to the Company through creative approaches to our business strategy, partnerships, collaborations, and alliances, while retaining discipline in execution,” said Bruce Eaton, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer, Editas Medicine.

Dr. Eaton continued, “It is an honor and a pleasure to transition into this role and work alongside our accomplished executive team and talented employees. We all share the passion to develop and deliver transformative gene editing medicines to patients.”

Dr. Eaton has more than 30 years of biotech scientific, operations, business development, and corporate strategy experience in both public and private companies. He has a deep understanding of biochemistry and biophysics for the innovation and development of medicines. Throughout his career, Dr. Eaton has founded multiple companies in both life sciences and human therapeutics and has served in C-level and director level roles. In addition, he has acted as an advisor to numerous government and academic research institutions.

Prior to joining Editas Medicine, Dr. Eaton was Founder and CEO of i2 Pharmaceuticals. Before founding i2, Dr. Eaton was Chief Operating Officer of SomaLogic, where he was responsible for operations, business development, and corporate strategy. Earlier in his career, Dr. Eaton served as Vice President of NexaGen and was on the integration team responsible for the merger with Vestar and the formation of NexStar Pharmaceuticals, where he built and led the groups responsible for good manufacturing practice (GMP) synthesis and analytics for an investigational new drug (IND) application for the Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) drug Macugen™ (Bausch + Laumb). At NexStar, Dr. Eaton was also responsible for alliance management of all research and process development efforts to support the liposomal delivery technology related to the drug Ambisome™ (Gilead Sciences, Inc., and Astellas Pharma, Inc.).

Dr. Eaton received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. He earned B.S. degrees in chemistry and biology from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Bioscience Association.

The Company also announced that Gad Berdugo stepped down from his role at Editas Medicine and is leaving the Company.

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.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘continue,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘potential,’’ ‘‘predict,’’ ‘‘project,’’ ‘‘target,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘would,’’ and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including: uncertainties inherent in the initiation and completion of pre-clinical studies and clinical trials and clinical development of the Company’s product candidates; availability and timing of results from pre-clinical studies and clinical trials; whether interim results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of the trial or the results of future trials; expectations for regulatory approvals to conduct trials or to market products and availability of funding sufficient for the Company’s foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements.  These and other risks are described in greater detail under the caption “Risk Factors” included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by the Company’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in other filings that the Company may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the future.  Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent the Company’s views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Except as required by law, the Company explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a7871443-5cea-4979-9a4e-b01c817f9153

Contacts:
Media
Cristi Barnett
(617) 401-0113
cristi.barnett@editasmed.com

Investors
Ron Moldaver
(617) 401-9052
ir@editasmed.com