- A lot of eyes are on Cambridge, MA-based Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) as it prepares for its IPO of 5.9M shares of common stock at $16 - 18.
- The genome editing firm aims to treat, possibly cure, some of the estimated 6,000 genetically defined diseases by correcting the specific mutated/missing genes. Its editing technology, CRISPR/Cas9, is the "next big thing" in biotech because of its unprecedented precision in editing DNA. CRISPR the acronym for "clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats" uses RNA to guide the molecular scissors, the Cas9 enzyme, to a specific DNA sequence where it makes a specific cut in the DNA and triggers the cell's DNA repair machinery to address the genetic defect.
- The company's platform consists of four interrelated components: nuclease engineering, delivery, control and specificity and directed editing. They are designed to develop medicines for a wide range of genetic targets, safely reach the site of disease, tightly control the editing process and drive the correct genetic repair. The Cas9-guide RNA complex has the potential to work on almost any site in the human genome.
- The company also believes CRISPR/Cas9 can improve the efficacy of cellular therapies. In May 2015, it entered into a collaboration with Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JUNO) to discover and develop next generation engineered T cell therapies.
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2015 Financials (9 mo.)($M): Collaboration Revenue: 0.8 (+999%); Operating Expenses: 23.8 (+202.3%); Net Loss: (60.6) (-613.6%); CF Ops: 2.6 (+149.6%).
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Update: Stock starts trading Wednesday, February 3.