Rare Daily Staff
Genome editing therapeutics developer Editas Medicine said its CEO Cynthia Collins will step down February 15 and its chairman James Mullen will take on her duties as CEO.
The company did not provide a reason for the change in leadership.
“Under Cindy’s leadership, the company initiated the EDIT-101 clinical trial – the first ever administration of an in vivo gene editing medicine in humans, filed an IND for EDIT-301, which the FDA cleared to initiate clinical trials, recovered the rights to the ocular programs and pipeline, and expanded the pre-clinical pipeline,” said Mullen. “Cindy has positioned Editas to achieve its long-term goals and deliver the potential of gene editing medicines to patients.”
Mullen is a biotech industry veteran who has served as chairman of the Editas board since March 2018. Mullen previously served as CEO and a director of Patheon, a pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization until its acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific in August 2017. Prior to joining Patheon, Mullen served as the president and CEO of Biogen one of the world’s largest biotechnology companies. He held various operating positions at Biogen prior to becoming CEO. Mullen serves on the board of directors of Thermo Fisher Scientific. He also previously served as chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization.
He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. from Villanova University.
Photo: Editas Chairman and CEO James Mullen
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