CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Casebia Therapeutics, the joint venture founded by Bayer and CRISPR Therapeutics, today announced the hiring of Robin A. Walker as the company’s Vice President, Head of Legal. Walker is a seasoned legal strategist and veteran of the Cambridge biotechnology community whose specialties include collaboration and licensing agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property. She comes to Casebia with over 18 years of experience as a private and in-house attorney.
“We are thrilled to welcome Robin to Casebia’s leadership team,” said James W. Burns, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Casebia. “Robin’s business and legal expertise, combined with her deep knowledge of the biomedical and pharmaceutical industry, will provide critical insight and guidance as we mature and move toward our goal of developing new medicines to help patients with genetic disease.”
Casebia was founded to harness the potential of CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology and develop new medicines for people with inherited diseases. As Vice President, Head of Legal, Walker will bolster Casebia’s leadership team, and help guide the company in future partnerships and transactions.
Prior to joining Casebia, Walker was Research and Business Development Counsel at Biogen. She brings over 18 years of legal experience handling a wide range of business matters including business development, commercial, compliance, corporate governance, government affairs, HR, R&D and securities. Prior to joining Biogen, Walker was Senior Counsel at Staples, Inc., and a Senior Corporate Associate in the Boston office of K&L Gates, an international law firm. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Northeast Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), as Chair of the ACC’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, as President of the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Women’s Bar Foundation, and serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of The Shady Hill School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Vassar College and her Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law.
“Casebia’s collaborative approach and business model represent a unique opportunity to unlock the full potential of gene editing therapeutics,” said Walker. “I feel privileged to be part of this growing team and look forward to helping realize this promising science.”
About Casebia Therapeutics
Casebia Therapeutics is a novel
joint venture between Bayer and CRISPR Therapeutics, focused on
discovering, developing and commercializing new CRISPR/Cas9-based
breakthrough therapeutics to treat the genetic causes of bleeding
disorders, autoimmune disease, blindness, hearing loss, and heart
disease. Formed in the first quarter of 2016, the company began
operations in the U.S. in August of 2016. Casebia has access to
gene-editing technology from CRISPR Therapeutics in specific disease
areas, as well as access to protein engineering expertise and relevant
disease know-how through Bayer. Casebia is a free-standing entity,
equally owned by Bayer and CRISPR Therapeutics, with its own scientific
leadership and management team. The company’s Board of Directors has
equal composition from Bayer and CRISPR Therapeutics. Casebia’s primary
base of research operations is in Cambridge, MA, with a second site in
San Francisco, CA.
For more information, please visit www.casebia.com.