Caribou Bio Prioritizes Cancer CAR-Ts, Shelves Autoimmune Program and Restructures Amid Data Delays

April 25, 2025/MedCityNews/

Caribou Biosciences has adjusted its 2025 priorities, opting to discontinue its autoimmune program and reduce its workforce by approximately 32% to concentrate resources on its two lead allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy programs for cancer. This strategic shift follows a delay in the anticipated first-half data readouts for these cancer programs, which are now expected in the second half of 2025.

The corporate restructuring, announced after market close on Thursday, will impact roughly 40 of Caribou’s 125 full-time employees (as of March 1, according to their annual report). The company anticipates that this reprioritization will extend its capital runway into the second half of 2027, a one-year increase from its previous projection. As of the end of March, Caribou reported a cash position of $212.5 million.

Caribou, a competitor in the allogeneic CAR T-therapy space, utilizes CRISPR technology (co-founded by Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna) to edit T-cells from healthy donors. This approach aims to create “off-the-shelf” therapies that target disease while minimizing the risk of patient immune system rejection. A key challenge for allogeneic developers is to match the efficacy and durability of autologous CAR T-therapies, which are derived from a patient’s own cells.

Caribou’s primary cancer programs are:

• CB-010: A CD19-targeting cell therapy in Phase 1 development for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The company stated that initial data suggests a single dose of CB-010 has the potential for safety, efficacy, and durability comparable to approved autologous CAR T-cell therapies. The delayed readout will include more data with longer patient follow-up, as well as data from a proof-of-concept cohort of up to 10 patients who relapsed after prior CD19-targeted therapy.
• CB-011: A BCMA-targeting cell therapy in Phase 1 development for multiple myeloma. Its data readout is also now expected in the second half of 2025, allowing for the accrual of more mature data.

President and CEO Rachel Haurwitz explained the decision in a prepared statement: “We recognize the challenges in the current market environment and believe the best approach is to present the most robust datasets for both programs. As a result, we now plan to disclose clinical data from CB-010 and CB-011 in the second half of this year.”

Caribou will no longer pursue the development of CB-010 for lupus, a Phase 1 trial that had been cleared to begin. Additionally, a Phase 1 trial of CB-012 in advanced acute myeloid leukemia has been discontinued due to the need for further data that would divert resources from the lead cancer programs. Patients previously treated in the CB-012 trial will continue to be monitored in a long-term follow-up study. The company has also ceased its preclinical research activities.

This restructuring marks the second pipeline adjustment for Caribou in the past year. In July, the company discontinued a preclinical program focused on allogeneic natural killer (NK) cell therapies to extend its cash runway and prioritize its allogeneic CAR T-cell programs.

Following the announcement, Caribou’s stock price opened at 87 cents on Friday, significantly lower than its $17 IPO price from 2021.