(Reuters) – Editas Medicine 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 and partner CRISPR Therapeutics.
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)
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