Press Release

CRISPR Therapeutics Proposes New Members to the Board of Directors

ZUG, Switzerland and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on creating transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases, today announced it proposes to elect John T. Greene and Katherine A. High, M.D. to its Board of Directors at the Company’s upcoming annual general meeting to be held later this year.

“We are very pleased to invite John and Kathy to join our Board of Directors. Together, they will bring significant strategic and operational experience to CRISPR Therapeutics during a critical stage of our company’s growth,” said Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of CRISPR Therapeutics. “We look forward to their guidance as we scale the Company and continue to advance our mission of bringing transformative therapies to patients with serious diseases.”

John T. Greene served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Bioverativ from November 2016 to April 2018. Prior to joining Bioverativ, Mr. Greene was the Chief Financial Officer of Willis Group Holdings from June 2014 until January 2016 and was instrumental in its turnaround and subsequent merger with Towers Watson. Before joining Willis, he held senior executive roles at HSBC for eight years, including Chief Financial Officer for HSBC’s largest business unit, the global Retail Bank Wealth Management business. Prior to HSBC, Mr. Greene previously worked for 12 years in various roles at General Electric Company, including as Chief Financial Officer for GE Global Business Finance. Mr. Greene has an undergraduate degree from the State University of New York, and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Katherine A. High, M.D., has been Co-Founder, President and Head of Research & Development and a member of the Board of Directors of Spark Therapeutics, Inc. since September 2014. Dr. High was a Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, an Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia from 2004 to 2014. She completed a five-year term from 2000 to 2005 on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee on Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapies and is a past-president of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy. Dr. High holds an A.B. in chemistry from Harvard University, an M.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, a business certification from the University of North Carolina Business School Management Institute for Hospital Administrators and an honorary M.A. from The University of Pennsylvania.

About CRISPR Therapeutics
CRISPR Therapeutics is a leading gene editing company focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene editing technology that allows for precise, directed changes to genomic DNA. CRISPR Therapeutics has established a portfolio of therapeutic programs across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine and rare diseases. To accelerate and expand its efforts, CRISPR Therapeutics has established strategic collaborations with leading companies including Bayer AG, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and ViaCyte, Inc.CRISPR Therapeutics AG is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, CRISPR Therapeutics, Inc., and R&D operations based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and business offices in London, United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.crisprtx.com.

CRISPR 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 regarding CRISPR Therapeutics’ expectations about any or all of the following: (i) clinical trials (including, without limitation, the timing of filing of clinical trial applications and INDs, any approvals thereof and the timing of commencement of clinical trials), development timelines and discussions with regulatory authorities related to product candidates under development by CRISPR Therapeutics and its collaborators; (ii) the number of patients that will be evaluated, the anticipated date by which enrollment will be completed and the data that will be generated by ongoing and planned clinical trials, and the ability to use that data for the design and initiation of further clinical trials; (iii) the scope and timing of ongoing and potential future clinical trials; (iv) the intellectual property coverage and positions of CRISPR Therapeutics, its licensors and third parties; (v) the sufficiency of CRISPR Therapeutics’ cash resources; and (vi) 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 bounds of its knowledge of its business and operations, forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and they are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk. Actual performance and results may differ materially from those projected or suggested in the forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: the outcomes for each CRISPR Therapeutics’ planned clinical trials and studies may not be favorable; that one or more of CRISPR Therapeutics’ internal or external product candidate programs will not proceed as planned for technical, scientific or commercial reasons; that future competitive or other market factors may adversely affect the commercial potential for CRISPR Therapeutics’ product candidates; uncertainties inherent in the initiation and completion of preclinical studies for CRISPR Therapeutics’ product candidates; availability and timing of results from preclinical studies; whether results from a preclinical trial will be predictive of future results of the future trials; uncertainties about regulatory approvals to conduct trials or to market products; uncertainties regarding the intellectual property protection for CRISPR Therapeutics’ technology and intellectual property belonging to third parties; and those risks and uncertainties described under the heading "Risk Factors" in CRISPR Therapeutics’ most recent annual report on Form 10-K, and in 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. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. CRISPR Therapeutics disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, other than to the extent required by law.

CRISPR Investor Contact:
Susan Kim
susan.kim@crisprtx.com

CRISPR Media Contact:
Jennifer Paganelli
WCG on behalf of CRISPR
347-658-8290
jpaganelli@wcgworld.com

Source: CRISPR Therapeutics AG