Editas Medicine Named A 2015 Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Editas Medicine, a leading genome editing company, today announced that it has been selected as a 2015 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. Editas is among 49 companies being recognized with this distinguished award for advancing the world’s most innovative technologies.

“It is an honor to be recognized by the World Economic Forum as a company with a technology that has the potential to significantly impact the global healthcare landscape,” said Katrine Bosley, CEO, Editas Medicine. “We believe our CRISPR/Cas9 platform has the ability to unlock the promise of genome editing for a broad range of diseases and importantly, to make a significant difference for patients.”

Each year the World Economic Forum selects approximately 50 companies as its annual Technology Pioneers. This year’s selection committee, composed of top technology and innovation experts, academics, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, evaluated all applicants based on innovation, growth, sustainability, proof of concept, potential impact and leadership.

“We’re glad to see American companies continue to make it to the selection,” says Fulvia Montresor, Head of Technology Pioneers at the World Economic Forum. “Editas Medicine is part of a group of entrepreneurs who are more aware of the crucial challenges of the world around them and who are determined to do their part to solve those challenges with their company.”

The Technology Pioneers will be recognized in a ceremony at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, People’s Republic of China Sept. 9-11, 2015. The meeting is the foremost global business gathering in Asia, which brings together leaders from top-ranked multinationals and chief executive officers of dynamic and fast-growing companies. More information about the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers program, along with the full list of winners, can be found at http://www.weforum.org/techpioneers.

About Genome Editing

Genome editing facilitates sequence-targeted modifications of DNA. The CRISPR (clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR associated protein 9) system, the newest genome editing approach, uses a protein-RNA complex composed of an enzyme known as Cas9 bound to a guide RNA molecule designed to recognize a particular DNA sequence. The RNA molecule guides the Cas9 complex to the location in the genome that requires repair.

Recent advances in CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing have made it possible to modify almost any gene in the human body with the ability to directly turn on, turn off or edit disease-causing genes. This technology has the potential to address diseases that have previously been intractable to traditional gene therapy, gene knock-down or other genome modification techniques.

About Editas Medicine

Editas Medicine is a leading genome editing company and part of a transformational new area of health care – genomic medicine. The company was founded by pioneers and world leaders in genome editing bringing specific expertise in CRISPR/Cas9 and TALE technologies. The company’s mission is to translate its proprietary technology into novel solutions to treat a broad range of genetically driven diseases. For more information, visit www.editasmedicine.com.