It wasn’t too long ago that the gene editing system CRISPR-Cas9 was just a tool for research labs, not companies developing drugs. But that’s all changed, and now it’s on companies like Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTLA]]) to write the next chapter of what could be one of the most important biotech stories of the century.
Intellia’s founder and CEO will be among those who take center stage at the latest installment of Xconomy’s “Boston’s Life Science Disruptors” event series on the evening of Oct. 20 at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT in Cambridge. We’re bringing together some of the Boston area’s top biotech founders, investors, and leaders for a series of candid, interactive chats about the challenge of bringing a disruptive technology forward, and the ups and downs, key decisions, and harrowing moments they face along the way.
You can get your tickets here.
CRISPR-Cas9, for instance, made its way to Wall Street in 2016 when Intellia and local rival Editas Medicine (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EDIT]]) went public, capping a few years of explosive hype and no shortage of controversy for the gene editing system. But these are still the early days for CRISPR; its first human trials are just beginning now. Do the rocky roads encountered by other promising drug-making strategies, like RNA interference and gene therapy, portend obstacles ahead for CRISPR?
We’ll talk about that and much more on Oct. 20 at the Koch Institute. In the meantime, here are some of the speakers you can expect to hear from:
Nessan Bermingham: President, CEO and Founder, Intellia Therapeutics
Vicki Sato: Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School
Jean-Francois Formela: Partner, Atlas Venture
Donald Ingber: Founding Director, Wyss Institute at Harvard University; Scientific Founder, Emulate
Geraldine Hamilton: President and Chief Scientific Officer, Emulate
There are a few more names to come as well. Space is limited at this event, so make sure to grab your tickets now—you can save some cash if you buy a seat online instead of at the door. See you in Cambridge on Oct. 20.
