- Cindy Atwell, promoted to Chief Development
and Business Officer-
- Cassie Gorsuch, PhD, promoted to Chief
Scientific Officer –
Precision BioSciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: DTIL), a clinical stage
gene editing company utilizing its novel proprietary ARCUS®
platform to develop in vivo gene editing therapies, including gene
elimination, gene insertion, and gene excision programs, today
announced enhancements within the Company’s senior leadership team.
Precision continues to progress its lead in vivo gene editing
program, PBGENE-HBV, through Phase 1 clinical study, while
preparing to advance additional in vivo programs into clinic.
Cindy Atwell is appointed to Chief Development and Business
Officer where she will oversee all development functions for
Precision including clinical, translational, regulatory, program
leadership and management in addition to business development and
alliance oversight. Ms. Atwell’s responsibilities will include
oversight over Precision’s lead clinical stage PBGENE-HBV program,
as well as the Company’s next in vivo gene editing programs. Ms.
Atwell joined Precision BioSciences in 2019 and has served as the
Company’s Chief Business Officer since 2022. Ms. Atwell has been
instrumental in delivering multiple partnerships and business
development deals for Precision while also overseeing the Company’s
alliance and program management teams. Ms. Atwell has over twenty
years of multi-disciplinary experience in the biopharma industry,
holding various positions across business development and clinical
research at Halozyme, AbbVie, Amylin, and other biotech companies.
Cindy holds an MBA from the University of California, San Diego and
a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and molecular biology from
the Pennsylvania State University.
Additionally, Cassie Gorsuch, PhD has been promoted to Chief
Scientific Officer overseeing non-clinical development and gene
therapy discovery. Dr. Gorsuch will be responsible for preclinical
proof of concept and IND-enabling data to support advancement to
clinical studies. Dr. Gorsuch most recently served as Precision’s
Vice President of Gene Therapy Discovery. Dr. Gorsuch has been
instrumental in the advancement of the PBGENE-HBV program through
preclinical studies and into the clinic. Dr. Gorsuch will continue
to support external engagement and education regarding ARCUS and
Precision’s gene editing efforts. Dr. Gorsuch earned her PhD in
biological sciences from the University of Notre Dame and a
Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Rockhurst University.
“I’m delighted to announce the well-deserved promotion of Cindy
Atwell who has been instrumental in driving program teams to
successful regulatory milestones while also bolstering Precision’s
development capabilities through key external partnerships,” said
Michael Amoroso, Chief Executive Officer of Precision Biosciences.
“Her perseverance and dedication to Precision BioSciences has
enabled us to fully pivot into an in vivo gene editing company and
advance our own programs into the clinic, starting with our
PBGENE-HBV program that remains on track with anticipated Phase 1
clinical data milestones in 2025.”
“I am thrilled to announce the promotion of Dr. Cassie Gorsuch
who has already established herself as a leader of our company both
internally and externally with our various stakeholders,” said Dr.
Jeff Smith, Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer. “As a pioneering
clinical stage in vivo gene editing company, it’s critical that our
preclinical efforts translate into clinical success, and having
Cassie oversee non-clinical development and gene therapy discovery
while working alongside me strengthens our capabilities and
scientific leadership team.”
In addition to these changes, Sam Wadsworth, PhD, has notified
us of his intent to retire from Board work and has stepped away
from his Director role at Precision BioSciences. “We thank Sam for
his steadfast commitment to our Science and Technology Committee
and the valuable contributions he has made during his time with the
Precision team. We wish him well in future endeavors,” added Mr.
Amoroso.
About Precision BioSciences, Inc.
Precision BioSciences, Inc. is a clinical stage gene editing
company dedicated to improving life (DTIL) with its novel and
proprietary ARCUS® genome editing platform that differs from other
technologies in the way it cuts, its smaller size, and its simpler
structure. Key capabilities and differentiating characteristics may
enable ARCUS nucleases to drive more intended, defined therapeutic
outcomes. Using ARCUS, the Company’s pipeline is comprised of in
vivo gene editing candidates designed to deliver lasting cures for
the broadest range of genetic and infectious diseases where no
adequate treatments exist. For more information about Precision
BioSciences, please visit www.precisionbiosciences.com.
The ARCUS® platform is being used to develop in vivo gene
editing therapies for sophisticated gene edits, including gene
insertion (inserting DNA into gene to cause expression/add
function), elimination (removing a genome e.g. viral DNA or mutant
mitochondrial DNA), and excision (removing a large portion of a
defective gene by delivering two ARCUS nucleases in a single
AAV).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not
relate to matters of historical fact should be considered
forward-looking statements, including, without limitation,
statements regarding the clinical development and expected safety,
efficacy and benefit of our product candidates and gene editing
approaches and those of our collaborators including editing
efficiency; the design of PBGENE-HBV to directly eliminate cccDNA
and inactivate integrated HBV DNA with high specificity,
potentially leading to functional cures; the suitability of ARCUS
nucleases for gene elimination, insertion and excision and
differentiation from other gene editing approaches due to its small
size, simplicity and distinctive cut; the expected timing of
regulatory processes (including filings such as IND’s and CTA’s and
studies for PBGENE-HBV) and additional programs; expectations about
operational initiatives, strategies, and further development of our
programs and those of our collaborators; expectations about
achievement of key milestones; and anticipated timing of clinical
data. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by
terms such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “approach,” “believe,”
“contemplate,” “could,” “designed,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,”
“intend,” “look,” “may,” “mission,” “plan,” “possible,”
“potential,” “predict,” “project,” “pursue,” “should,” “strive,”
“target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative thereof and similar
words and expressions.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current
expectations, beliefs, and assumptions and on information currently
available to us. These statements are neither promises nor
guarantees, and involve a number of known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and assumptions, and actual results may differ
materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking
statements due to various important factors, including, but not
limited to, our ability to become profitable; our ability to
procure sufficient funding to advance our programs; risks
associated with our capital requirements, anticipated cash runway,
requirements under our current debt instruments and effects of
restrictions thereunder, including our ability to raise additional
capital due to market conditions and/or our market capitalization;
our operating expenses and our ability to predict what those
expenses will be; our limited operating history; the progression
and success of our programs and product candidates in which we
expend our resources; our limited ability or inability to assess
the safety and efficacy of our product candidates; the risk that
other genome-editing technologies may provide significant
advantages over our ARCUS technology; our dependence on our ARCUS
technology; the initiation, cost, timing, progress, achievement of
milestones and results of research and development activities and
preclinical and clinical studies, including clinical trial and
investigational new drug applications; public perception about
genome editing technology and its applications; competition in the
genome editing, biopharmaceutical, and biotechnology fields; our or
our collaborators’ or other licensees’ ability to identify, develop
and commercialize product candidates; pending and potential product
liability lawsuits and penalties against us or our collaborators or
other licensees related to our technology and our product
candidates; the US and foreign regulatory landscape applicable to
our and our collaborators’ or other licensees’ development of
product candidates; our or our collaborators’ or other licensees’
ability to advance product candidates into, and successfully
design, implement and complete, clinical trials; potential
manufacturing problems associated with the development or
commercialization of any of our product candidates; delays or
difficulties in our and our collaborators’ and other licensees’
ability to enroll patients; changes in interim “top-line” and
initial data that we announce or publish; if our product candidates
do not work as intended or cause undesirable side effects; risks
associated with applicable healthcare, data protection, privacy and
security regulations and our compliance therewith; our or our
licensees’ ability to obtain orphan drug designation or fast track
designation for our product candidates or to realize the expected
benefits of these designations; our or our collaborators’ or other
licensees’ ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of
our product candidates, and any related restrictions, limitations
and/or warnings in the label of an approved product candidate; the
rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our product
candidates; our ability to effectively manage the growth of our
operations; our ability to attract, retain, and motivate executives
and personnel; effects of system failures and security breaches;
insurance expenses and exposure to uninsured liabilities; effects
of tax rules; effects of any pandemic, epidemic, or outbreak of an
infectious disease; the success of our existing collaboration and
other license agreements, and our ability to enter into new
collaboration arrangements; our current and future relationships
with and reliance on third parties including suppliers and
manufacturers; our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual
property protection for our technology and any of our product
candidates; potential litigation relating to infringement or
misappropriation of intellectual property rights; effects of
natural and manmade disasters, public health emergencies and other
natural catastrophic events; effects of sustained inflation, supply
chain disruptions and major central bank policy actions; market and
economic conditions; risks related to ownership of our common
stock, including fluctuations in our stock price; our ability to
meet the requirements of and maintain listing of our common stock
on Nasdaq or other public stock exchanges; and other important
factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30,
2024, as any such factors may be updated from time to time in our
other filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC’s
website at www.sec.gov and the Investors page of our website
under SEC Filings at investor.precisionbiosciences.com.
All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this
press release and, except as required by applicable law, we have no
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements
contained herein, whether as a result of any new information,
future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250129677333/en/
Investor Contact: Naresh Tanna Vice President, Investor
Relations Naresh.Tanna@precisionbiosciences.com
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