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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and LONDON, Jan. 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NTLA) has joined the Genomics England Genomics Expert Network for Enterprises (GENE) Consortium, as the first, dedicated genome editing company to participate in the 100,000 Genomes Project.

The GENE Consortium, established in March 2015, is the 100,000 Genomes Project’s industry partnership. Intellia will join twelve other companies who are working together in a pre-competitive trial. The collaboration aims to identify the most effective and secure way of bringing industry expertise into the 100,000 Genomes Project to realise future potential benefits for patients affected by rare diseases or cancers.  Members of the consortium are granted controlled access to aggregated, de-identified genome and health data of participants. They work alongside experts that specialise in data analysis, so that the project can benefit from cutting edge advances in handling Big Data.

Genomics can greatly improve our understanding of health and disease, unlocking new treatments or repurposing existing treatments based an individual’s genomic makeup; so-called personalised medicine.

Sir John Chisholm, Executive Chairman, Genomics England, said: “The potential for genomics to transform healthcare, from better diagnoses to new drugs and treatments, is extraordinary. We are delighted to welcome Intellia Therapeutics to our GENE Consortium. The UK is a global leader in population sequencing and it’s important for the future of medicine that we continue to attract and collaborate with the most innovative emerging technologies in this space.”

“Access to genomics information is critical as Intellia looks to better understand the basis of disease and to develop potential genome-editing treatments,” said Intellia’s Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Nessan Bermingham, Ph.D., “We look forward to actively participating in the GENE Consortium, as Genomics England is enabling scientific exploration and key medical insights that ultimately will benefit patients.”

About Genomics England

Genomics England is a company owned by the Department of Health and was set up to deliver the 100,000 Genomes Project. This flagship project will sequence 100,000 whole genomes from National Health Service patients and their families. Genomics England has four main aims:

• to bring benefit to patients,
• to create an ethical and transparent programme based on consent,
• to enable new scientific discovery and medical insights,
• to kickstart the development of a UK genomics industry.

The project is focusing on patients with rare diseases, and their families, as well as patients with common cancers.

For more information visit our website www.genomicsengland.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @genomicsengland.

About Intellia Therapeutics

Intellia Therapeutics is a leading genome editing company, focused on the development of proprietary, potentially curative therapeutics using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Intellia believes the CRISPR/Cas9 technology has the potential to transform medicine by permanently editing disease-associated genes in the human body with a single treatment course. Our combination of deep scientific, technical and clinical development experience, along with our leading intellectual property portfolio, puts us in a unique position to unlock broad therapeutic applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology and create a new class of therapeutic products. Learn more about Intellia Therapeutics and CRISPR/Cas9 at intelliatx.com; Follow us on Twitter @intelliatweets.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Intellia Therapeutics undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.

Intellia Contacts:

Media:
Jennifer Mound Smoter
Chief External Affairs & Communications Officer
+1 857-706-1071
jenn.smoter@intelliatx.com

Investors:
John Graziano
Trout Group
+ 1 646-378-2942
jgraziano@troutgroup.com

Genomics England Contact:
Katrina Nevin-Ridley
Director of Communications
0207 882 6493
katrina.nevin-ridley@genomicsengland.co.uk