CRISPR Therapeutics strengthens its leadership team

-Naimish Patel, MD, appointed as Chief Medical Officer-

-Julianne Bruno, MBA, promoted to chief operating officer-

ZUG, Switzerland and BOSTON, May 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on creating transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases, today announced the appointment of Dr. Naimish Patel as Chief Medical Officer .medical, effective May 28, 2024. Dr. Patel is an experienced drug development professional who has worked in multiple disease areas, most recently serving in a leadership role as Global Therapeutic Area Director for Immunology and Inflammation at Sanofi. . Additionally, the Company also announced the promotion of Julianne Bruno, MBA, to Chief Operating Officer, effective May 23, 2024. She currently serves as the Company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Program and Portfolio Management Officer.

“I am thrilled to welcome a transformational leader of Naimish’s caliber to the CRISPR Therapeutics executive team,” said Dr. Samarth Kulkarni, CEO and president of CRISPR Therapeutics. “His extensive drug development experience and proven leadership will be critical as we expand our portfolio and develop the many assets we have in the pipeline.”

Dr. Kulkarni added: “Additionally, I am very pleased to announce Julie’s promotion and look forward to her continued contributions to the Company. Since joining CRISPR Therapeutics in 2019, Julie has been a valuable member of the leadership team and has led several important and impactful cross-functional initiatives, including our collaboration with Vertex. With a strengthened executive team combined with our significant progress to date, CRISPR Therapeutics remains well-positioned to rapidly advance our programs and advance our mission to develop transformative medicines for patients with serious diseases.

“CRISPR Therapeutics’ compelling and innovative platform, exciting clinical assets and impressive manufacturing capabilities position the company to potentially offer several transformative therapies to patients with significant unmet medical needs,” said Naimish Patel, MD. “I am incredibly excited to join the CRISPR leadership team and help bring these therapies to patients in need.”

Dr. Patel joins CRISPR Therapeutics from Sanofi, where he most recently served as Head of Immunology and Inflammation, Global Therapeutic Area Development. Previously, he was director of the global dupilumab program at Sanofi, leading multiple waves of indication expansion, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and eosinophilic esophagitis. During his time at Sanofi, Dr. Patel led the development of industry-leading solutions across key therapeutic areas including respiratory, dermatology, gastroenterology and rheumatology. He also oversaw the development of key business activities and mergers and acquisitions during the rapid expansion phase of the pipeline. Dr. Patel is a pulmonary and critical care physician with extensive experience in translational medicine and clinical research.

Dr. Patel earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from MIT and a PhD from McGill University. He completed training in internal medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Harvard Medical School. After completing his fellowship, Dr. Patel was a faculty member at Harvard and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he directed an NIH-funded translational immunology laboratory focusing on the innate defense functions of the lung. He previously held clinical development and discovery management positions at AstraZeneca and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Julianne Bruno, MBA, has served as Senior Vice President and Head of Program and Portfolio Management at CRISPR Therapeutics since March 2023. During her tenure at CRISPR Therapeutics since joining the Company in April 2019, she has assumed positions of increasing responsibility, including management collaboration in the field of hemoglobinopathy with Vertex from the early clinical stage after approval. Additionally, she was responsible for program leadership for our immuno-oncology assets and the program management function across all of our franchises. Prior to joining CRISPR Therapeutics, Ms. Bruno worked at McKinsey & Company from August 2015 to March 2019, where she was a biotechnology practice leader and served multiple biotechnology companies on a broad range of commercial topics. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School and an AB from Princeton University.

About CRISPR therapy
Since its founding over a decade ago, CRISPR Therapeutics has evolved from a research-stage company developing gene editing programs to a company that recently celebrated the historic approval of the first-ever CRISPR-based therapy and has a diverse portfolio of product candidates across a wide range of diseases, including hemoglobinopathy, oncology, regenerative medicine, cardiovascular, autoimmune and rare diseases. In 2018, CRISPR Therapeutics brought the first-ever CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy to the clinic to investigate the treatment of sickle cell disease or transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, and in late 2023, CASGEVY™ (exagamglogene autotemcel) was approved in certain countries. countries to treat eligible patients suffering from any of these diseases. Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR science has revolutionized biomedical research and represents a powerful, clinically proven approach that could create a new class of potentially transformative drugs. To accelerate and expand its efforts, CRISPR Therapeutics has formed strategic partnerships with leading companies including Bayer and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. CRISPR Therapeutics AG is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, and its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, CRISPR Therapeutics, Inc., has research and development operations in Boston, Massachusetts and San Francisco, California, as well as business offices in London in the UK. More information can be found at www.crisprtx.com.

CRISPR THERAPEUTICS^® the standard trademark and the design logo are trademarks and registered trademarks of CRISPR Therapeutics AG. The CASGEVY™ word mark and design are trademarks of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CRISPR Therapeutics Forward-Looking Statement
This press release may contain a number of “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements by Dr. Kulkarni and Patel in this press release, as well as statements regarding CRISPR Therapeutics’ expectations regarding any or all of the following: (i) preclinical plans and studies, clinical trials and products and programs in the pipeline, including, without limitation, manufacturing capabilities, status such studies and trials, potential expansion to new indications and data expectations in general; (ii) the data that will be generated from ongoing and planned clinical trials and the ability to use that data to design and initiate further clinical trials; (iii) sufficiency of monetary resources; (iv) expected benefits from cooperation; and (v) the therapeutic value, development, and commercial potential of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technologies and therapies. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Although CRISPR Therapeutics believes that such statements are based on reasonable assumptions within the limits of its knowledge of its business and operations, forward-looking statements are not promises or guarantees and are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those anticipated or implied in forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: efficacy and safety results from ongoing clinical trials will not be continued or replicated in ongoing or planned clinical trials or may not support regulatory conclusions; clinical trial results may not be favorable; one or more of the product candidate programs will not proceed as planned for technical, scientific or commercial reasons; future competitive or other market factors may adversely affect the commercial potential of product candidates; the initiation and completion of preclinical studies for product candidates are uncertain and the results of such studies may not be predictive of future results of future studies or clinical trials; regulatory approvals to conduct testing or bring products to market are uncertain; uncertainties inherent in the operation of a manufacturing facility; may not be aware of the potential benefits of their cooperation; uncertainty regarding intellectual property protection for its technology and third-party intellectual property and the outcome of proceedings (such as interference, opposition or similar proceedings) relating to all or part of such intellectual property; and the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in CRISPR Therapeutics’ most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and any other subsequent filings made by CRISPR Therapeutics with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Current and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. CRISPR Therapeutics disclaims any obligation or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, other than as required by law.

Investor contact:
Susan Kim
+1-617-307-7503
[email protected]

Contact with the media:
Rachel Eides
+1-617-315-4493
[email protected]