“Advances in genome editing have opened the door for an entirely new and promising approach to treating disease by correcting causative errors directly in a patient's genome, says Feng Zhang, co-founder, and an assistant professor at MIT.”
Editas Medicine has secured $43 million in a series A financing to translate its genome editing technology in therapeutics. Genome editing has come a long way and now, according to the five founders of the newly launched biotech, it is ready to be optimized and developed for therapeutic use.
Recent scientific advances and publications by the co-founders on novel gene editing methods that overcome the challenges associated with previous technologies have made it possible to precisely modify almost any gene in the human body with the ability to directly turn on, turn off, or edit disease-causing genes. Editas’ mission is to translate its genome editing technology into a novel class of human therapeutics that enable precise and corrective molecular modification to treat the underlying cause of a broad range of diseases at the genetic level.
“Advances in genome editing have opened the door for an entirely new and promising approach to treating disease by correcting causative errors directly in a patient's genome,” says Feng Zhang, co-founder, and an assistant professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Editas is optimizing and refining existing genome editing technology to create a versatile platform for the development of potential human therapeutics.”
Editas’ other founders include Harvard’s George Church; Jennifer Doudna of Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of California, Berkeley; David Liu, investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a professor at Harvard; and Keith Joung an associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and a pioneer in the development and translation of genome editing technologies.
The company has generated a substantial number of patent filings and has access to intellectual property covering foundational genome editing technologies, as well as essential advancements and technology to enable it to translate early findings into viable human therapeutic products.
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Editas is backed by Flagship Ventures Polaris Partners, and Third Rock Ventures, with participation from Partners Innovation Fund.
November 30, 2013
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-editas_medicine_launches_with_43m_in_funding.html