Editas Medicine filed paperwork this morning for a $100 million initial public offering (IPO). The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup would become the first publicly-traded company specializing in gene editing, according to Bloomberg Business.
The company has received financing from such bold-faced names like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Google Ventures, the investment arm of Alphabet Inc.
Editas plans to use the gene-editing technology Crispr-Cas9 to alter defective DNA to manufacture new drugs for various diseases like cancer and sickle-cell anemia, writes MIT Technology Review.
The IPO filing indicated an estimated $15 million to $20 million of the proceeds would go toward advancing preclinical studies and clinical trials for its research program on a candidate for an inherited form of progressive blindness called Leber congenital amaurosis.
An approximate $22 million will be allocated toward supporting preclinical studies with Juno Therapeutics, a drug maker specializing in cancer therapies. Editas will spend the rest of the money on improving its technology platform and advancing other preclinical trials.
READ MORE: Gene Editing Could Yield New Muscular Dystrophy Therapy
Gene editing is attracting considerable interest from the pharmaceutical sector because the technology offers a chance to treat complex diseases on a molecular level.
However, more research is still needed to prove the safety and efficacy of the drugs that may emerge from this process.
