CRISPR gene editing stocks fall after Editas CEO resigns

Shares in firms developing therapies based on CRISPR gene editing technology have fallen after the resignation of the CEO of one of the leading biotechs in the field, Editas. Massachusetts-based Editas said Katrine Bosley has decided to step down from her role as president and CEO, on March 1, 2019. Bosley has been CEO of the firm for nearly five years and leaves just as the company prepares for its first clinical trial.
While the biotech gave no reasons for Bosley’s departure, the assumption among investors is that something is amiss with the company’s technology, sparking a slump of almost 20% on the Nasdaq, to just under $21 a share.
Cynthia Collins, a member of Editas’ board and former CEO of Human Longevity Inc., has been appointed interim CEO until a permanent successor is found. This had a knock-on effect on other listed biotechs developing CRISPR-based therapies – CRISPR Therapeutics and Intellia Therapeutics also saw their stocks fall in sympathy amid concerns that there might be an issue with the technology, which is used in genetic engineering but unproven as a therapy.