CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics AG

CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on creating transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases, today announced it proposes to elect Christian Rommel, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors at the Company’s annual general meeting to be held this year.

“We are thrilled to welcome Christian to our Board of Directors,” said Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of CRISPR Therapeutics. “His in-depth experience in successfully accelerating innovation and advancing drug candidates across a breadth of modalities will be an invaluable asset to CRISPR Therapeutics as we continue to advance our platform and pipeline to develop transformative medicines for patients suffering from serious diseases.”

“CRISPR Therapeutics is leading the next wave of innovation in gene editing and has the potential to transform the treatment paradigm of medicine,” said Christian Rommel, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Global Head of Research & Development and Member of the Executive Committee of Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "I look forward to working with the Board of Directors and management team to help guide the company's future growth, and to deliver meaningful impact to patients."

Dr. Rommel currently serves as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Research & Development and a Member of the Executive Committee of Bayer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He joined Bayer from Roche, where he was most recently Senior Vice President, Global Head of Oncology, Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED). Before that, Dr. Rommel worked at Amgen where he held roles such as Vice President of External Research and Development and Vice President, Research Oncology. Previously, he served as Chief Scientific Officer of Intellikine from its inception to acquisition by Takeda. His prior positions also include leadership as well as scientist roles at Merck Serono and Regeneron. Dr. Rommel received his Ph.D. in molecular oncology from the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, Germany and the Institute of Medical Virology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. He is also a lecturer of biotechnology at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland. He has authored more than 70 publications, including papers in Science and Nature, and is an inventor or co-inventor of 18 patents.

About CRISPR TherapeuticsSince its inception over a decade ago, CRISPR Therapeutics has transformed from a research-stage company advancing programs in the field of gene editing, to a company with a diverse portfolio of product candidates across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine, cardiovascular and rare diseases. The Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR science has revolutionized biomedical research and represents a powerful, clinically validated approach with the potential to create a new class of potentially transformative medicines. To accelerate and expand its efforts, CRISPR Therapeutics has established strategic partnerships with leading companies including Bayer and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. CRISPR Therapeutics AG is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, CRISPR Therapeutics, Inc., and R&D operations based in Boston, Massachusetts and San Francisco, California, and business offices in London, United Kingdom. To learn more, visit www.crisprtx.com.

CRISPR THERAPEUTICS® word mark and design logo are registered trademarks of CRISPR Therapeutics AG. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CRISPR Therapeutics Forward-Looking StatementThis 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 made by Drs. Kulkarni and Rommel in this press release, as well as statements regarding CRISPR Therapeutics’ expectations about any or all of the following: (i) its plans for and its preclinical studies, clinical trials and pipeline products and programs, including, without limitation, manufacturing capabilities, status of such studies and trials, potential expansion into new indications and expectations regarding data generally; (ii) 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; and (iii) 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 efficacy and safety results from ongoing clinical trials will not continue or be repeated in ongoing or planned clinical trials or may not support regulatory submissions; regulatory authorities may not approve exa-cel on a timely basis or at all; adequate pricing or reimbursement may not be secured to support continued development or commercialization of exa-cel following regulatory approval; clinical trial results may not be favorable; one or more of its product candidate programs will not proceed as planned for technical, scientific or commercial reasons; future competitive or other market factors may adversely affect the commercial potential for its product candidates; initiation and completion of preclinical studies for its product candidates is uncertain and results from such studies may not be predictive of future results of future studies or clinical trials; regulatory approvals to conduct trials or to market products are uncertain; uncertainties inherent in the operation of a manufacturing facility; it may not realize the potential benefits of its collaborations; uncertainties regarding the intellectual property protection for its technology and intellectual property belonging to third parties, and the outcome of proceedings (such as an interference, an opposition or a similar proceeding) involving all or any portion of such intellectual property; and those risks and uncertainties described under the heading "Risk Factors" in CRISPR Therapeutics’ most recent annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly report on Form 10-Q 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.

Investor Contact:Susan Kim+1-617-315-4600susan.kim@crisprtx.com

Media Contact:Rachel Eides+1-617-315-4493rachel.eides@crisprtx.com