NVS - Here's Why Editas Could Beat Intellia to a CRISPR Therapy
Breakthrough genome editing companies including Editas (NASDAQ: EDIT) and Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NTLA) have been in a tailspin since late 2019, and the latest earnings reports from both of those companies show that their revenue from collaborations and partnerships has started to dry up despite positive revenue growth overall.
Both companies aim to produce gene therapies utilizing CRISPR-based genetic editing in living patients, though their methods of delivering that therapy differ substantially. Neither company has a product on the market, though Editas beat Intellia to clinical trials in April when it began testing EDIT-101 for Leber congenital amaurosis, a type of congenital blindness. Nonetheless, Editas is many years away from its first therapy being approved for sale, assuming that EDIT-101 proceeds past phase 1.
Investors considering either of these two companies should be aware that both are risky choices with no guarantee of a payoff over any term. There is one significant difference that wise investors will weigh carefully, however: Editas's partnerships and strategic collaborations appear positioned to be far more fruitful for the company than Intellia's.