On November 3, 2023, Editas Medicine Inc (EDIT, Financial), a clinical-stage genome editing company, announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2023. The company reported a net loss of $45.0 million, or $0.55 per share, compared to a net loss of $55.7 million, or $0.81 per share, for the same period in 2022.
Financial Highlights
For the three months ended September 30, 2023, collaboration and other research and development revenues increased to $5.3 million, compared to $42.0 thousand for the same period in 2022. The increase is primarily related to an upfront payment for the non-exclusive Cas9 license to Vor Bio in the third quarter of 2023.
Research and development expenses decreased slightly by $0.8 million to $40.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023, compared to $41.3 million for the same period in 2022. General and administrative expenses also decreased by $1.2 million to $15.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023, compared to $16.2 million for the same period in 2022. The decrease was driven by reduced headcount related expense, including stock compensation, and reduced legal costs.
Business Updates
The company made significant progress advancing EDIT-301 in the third quarter, continuing to enroll and dose patients, and advancing the program towards a BLA filing. The company believes EDIT-301 has the potential to be a clinically differentiated, one-time, durable medicine that can provide life-changing clinical benefits to patients with sickle cell disease or beta thalassemia.
In August, Editas Medicine entered into a licensing agreement with Vor Bio, providing Vor Bio a non-exclusive Cas9 license for the development of ex vivo Cas9 gene edited hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) therapies for the treatment and/or prevention of hematological malignancies. Under this agreement, Editas Medicine received an upfront payment and is eligible for future development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on medicines utilizing the related intellectual property.
Leadership Updates
Caren Deardorf joined Editas as Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer, bringing more than 25 years of international biotechnology leadership across a range of companies and therapeutic areas. She will leverage her experience in successful product launches to build and lead Editas Medicine’s commercial organization, strategy, and execution to support all launch, commercialization, and lifecycle management activities of the Company’s current and future pipeline of products.
Looking Ahead
Editas Medicine plans to participate in several scientific, medical, and investor events in the coming months. The company also expects to share clinical data updates from the RUBY trial for severe sickle cell disease (SCD) and the EdiTHAL trial for transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TDT) in a Company-sponsored webinar and in a poster at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting on Monday, December 11.
Explore the complete 8-K earnings release (here) from Editas Medicine Inc for further details.