Back Bay in the Boston Globe: Crispr IPO Doesn't Hit It's Target

Back Bay’s Managing Partner and CEO, Jonathan Gertler, was quoted in Boston Globe's article “Crispr IPO Doesn't Hit It's Target”

Jonathan Gertler, chief executive and managing partner at Back Bay Life Science Advisors, said the pullback in gene-editing stocks is part of a broader market correction in the biotech sector. Sixty-five percent of the biotechs that went public from 2011 to 2015 are now trading below their opening-day prices while 20 percent are trading below the value of their cash balances, he said.“The markets have pulled back,” Gertler said. “There’s just more scrutiny of all biotechs after the bull market of recent years. Gene editing is exceedingly promising and very exciting, but it’s hard to generate enthusiasm in the current market.”Another factor he cited is patent litigation hanging over CRISPR-Cas9, the scientific tool at the heart of drug development efforts by Crispr Therapeutics, Editas, and Intellia.