Caribou Biosciences has announced that it is discontinuing its two allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy programmes due to financing constraints. 

It will discontinue development of vispa-cel for the treatment of relapsed or refractory (r/r) B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and CB-011 for the treatment of r/r multiple myeloma. 

In line with this decision, the company has announced it will implement a substantial reduction in workforce. 

“This is an extraordinarily difficult decision, particularly because it is in no way a reflection of our belief that vispa-cel and CB-011 have the potential to benefit patients. Vispa-cel is pivotal trial-ready, with FDA alignment already reached on the Phase III clinical trial design. We believe both programmes have demonstrated the potential for allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies to deliver deep and durable responses, while meaningfully expanding access for patients who urgently need treatment options,” said Rachel Haurwitz, President and CEO of Caribou.  

“Unfortunately, despite the progress we’ve made, the current financing environment for allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies has made it increasingly challenging to secure the capital necessary to responsibly advance these programmes. As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to evaluate strategic alternatives and plan to discontinue further development of our allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy programmes.” 

Caribou’s Board of Directors has approved initiating a process to evaluate strategic alternatives, including a merger, acquisition, business combination, or other strategic transactions. The company has not set a timeline for the completion of this review. 

Vispacabtagene regedleucel (vispa-cel; formerly known as CB-010) is an allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy evaluated in patients with relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r B-NHL). 

CB-011 is an allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy evaluated in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM).