- Cindy Atwell, promoted to Chief Development and Business Officer-
- Cassie Gorsuch, PhD, promoted to Chief Scientific Officer –
DURHAM, N.C., January 29, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
