CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Editas Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ: EDIT ), a leading genome editing company, announced today the appointment of Akshay Vaishnaw, M.D., Ph.D., to its board of directors. Dr. Vaishnaw is Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
“I am delighted to welcome Akshay to our board of directors,” said Katrine Bosley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Editas Medicine. “He has extensive clinical development experience, a passion for scientific excellence, and achieved significant accomplishments as part of the leadership team that has built Alnylam, one of the most innovative and important companies in the biotechnology industry. We believe Akshay’s perspective and advice will be invaluable as we continue to advance the organization and drive innovative new medicines to treat genetic diseases.”
“Editas is at the forefront of the genome editing field, which is advancing at a tremendous pace and has the potential to help people with many different serious genetic diseases,” said Dr. Vaishnaw. “I am excited to join the board and to help guide Editas into the future.”
Dr. Vaishnaw has served as Alnylam’s Executive Vice President of Research and Development since December 2014 and has served as their Chief Medical Officer since June 2011. He has served Alnylam in a number of senior R&D roles of increasing responsibility since joining the company in 2006. From December 1998 through 2005, Dr. Vaishnaw held various positions at Biogen Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Vaishnaw received his M.D. from the University of Wales College of Medicine, U.K., and his Ph.D. from the University of London, U.K., in molecular immunology. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, U.K. He serves on the board of directors of Visterra Inc., and the scientific advisory board of Scholar Rock Inc.
About Editas Medicine Editas Medicine is a leading genome editing company dedicated to treating patients with genetically defined diseases by correcting their disease-causing genes. The company was founded by world leaders in genome editing, and its mission is to translate the promise of genome editing science into a broad class of transformative genomic medicines to benefit the greatest number of patients.
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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, 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 as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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