Editas Medicine Strengthens Board of Directors with Appointment of New Chair and New Director
Editas Medicine (Nasdaq: EDIT) announced the appointment of Emma Reeve as Chair of the Board, effective at the next annual stockholder meeting on June 1, 2023. Reeve replaces James C. Mullen, who is stepping down. Additionally, Elliott Levy, M.D., joins the Board as an Independent Director. Reeve, who has been on the Board since September 2021, brings over 25 years of biopharmaceutical experience. Her leadership in overseeing the recent strategic changes at Editas positions her well for this role. Dr. Levy, an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with extensive R&D experience, is expected to enhance the company’s drug development efforts. Dr. O’Neill, the CEO, expressed confidence in the new leadership while thanking Mullen for his contributions over the last five years.
- Emma Reeve's appointment as Chair may lead to strategic stability due to her past contributions and experience.
- Elliott Levy's expertise in drug development could strengthen Editas' pipeline and commercialization efforts.
- Transitioning leadership might introduce temporary uncertainty in strategic direction.
Emma Reeve to support Editas’ evolution in new role as Chair of the Board
Elliott Levy, M.D., joins Board as an Independent Director
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Editas Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq: EDIT), a clinical stage genome editing company, today announced the appointment of current Independent Director Emma Reeve as Chair of the Board, effective at the Company’s next annual stockholder meeting, currently scheduled for June 1. Ms. Reeve will be replacing James C. Mullen as he steps down from the Board and his role as Executive Chair. The Company also announced the appointment of Elliott Levy, M.D., to its Board of Directors as an independent director.
“I am eager to work with Emma in her new capacity as Chair of the Board and to welcome Elliott to our Board,” said Gilmore O’Neill, M.B., M.M.Sc., President and Chief Executive Officer, Editas Medicine. “Emma has made significant contributions to Editas in the past 18 months on our Board, including chairing our audit committee and providing sound oversight on our recent iNK portfolio divestiture and strategic reprioritization. Elliot is an accomplished drug development executive, and his work has led to a number of new medicines. This significant experience and expertise will be an asset to our drug development efforts as we work to develop and commercialize transformative gene editing medicines. Together, along with the rest of our esteemed Board members, I know Emma and Elliott will make significant contributions to Editas in their Board service,” said Dr. O’Neill.
Emma Reeve joined the Editas Medicine Board of Directors in September 2021. Ms. Reeve is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with more than 25 years of global financial experience across pharmaceutical, medical device, and biopharma companies.
“I am thrilled to take on this new role as Chair of the Editas Board of Directors and to partner with the Board and management as the Company executes its new strategy and transitions into a commercial company,” said Ms. Reeve.
Dr. Levy is an accomplished biopharmaceutical executive with more than 20 years of global research and development expertise, including leading clinical strategy and development for multiple programs at all stages of development at global biopharmaceutical companies Amgen and Bristol Myers Squibb.
“Editas Medicine is at the forefront of developing medicines that will dramatically alter the treatment paradigm of difficult to treat diseases, and I am excited to join their Board of Directors. I look forward to working with the team as they advance their ground-breaking medicines to and through the clinic and commercialization to improve the lives of people living with serious diseases,” said Dr. Levy.
Dr. O’Neill added, “I would also like to thank Jim for his tremendous service to Editas over the past five years, both as our former CEO and as the longtime Chair of our Board. His leadership and experience greatly served our Company and drove us towards our ultimate goal of helping people living with serious diseases. We will miss him at Editas, and we wish him well in his new endeavor.”
About Emma Reeve
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. Ms. Reeve led Constellation’s IPO in 2018. Prior to Constellation, Ms. Reeve acted as interim Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Controller of Parexel International, a global biopharmaceutical services company, where she was responsible for all aspects of finance, investor relations, procurement, and facilities. In this role, she led the finance aspects of a sell-side process which culminated in an agreement to take the company private in a
Ms. Reeve serves on the Board of Directors of PTC Therapeutics, Inc., Ribon Therapeutics, and Aadi Bioscience, Inc. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Tufts Medical Center. Ms. Reeve holds a B.Sc. in computer science from Imperial College, University of London and is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.
About Elliott Levy, M.D.
Dr. Levy served as Senior Vice President and Head of Global Development and R&D Strategy and Operations at Amgen from 2014-2021. Prior to Amgen, he was a Senior Vice President at Bristol Myers Squibb, where he held various R&D positions of increasing responsibility during his 17-year tenure at the company.
Dr. Levy currently serves on the Board of Omega Therapeutics, Inc. and NuCana plc, both public biotechnology companies. In addition, he is a Venture Partner at 5AM Venture Management, LLC, and is a co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of the Intrepid Alliance, an industry-led non-profit consortium whose objective is to accelerate the development of small molecule therapeutics for potential viral pandemic agents. Dr. Levy received his B.A. in History from Yale College and an M.D. from the Yale School of Medicine, where he also completed fellowship training in internal medicine, nephrology, and clinical research.
About Editas Medicine
As a clinical stage genome editing company, Editas Medicine is focused on translating the power and potential of the CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/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. Editas Medicine is the exclusive licensee of Broad Institute and Harvard University’s Cas9 patent estates and Broad Institute’s Cas12a patent estate for human medicines. 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 preclinical studies and clinical trials and clinical development of the Company’s product candidates; availability and timing of results from preclinical 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, 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 speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise.
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