Caribou Biosciences announced Thursday a significant restructuring that includes laying off approximately one-third of its workforce and discontinuing its experimental lupus treatment program. The strategic shift represents a focused bet on the company's cancer cell therapy pipeline as it faces financial pressures and seeks to extend its operational runway.
The gene editing company, co-founded by Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna in 2011, will cut 32% of its staff, which previously totaled 147 employees as of March 1. The restructuring comes alongside a decision to delay planned clinical trial readouts for its two lead cancer cell therapies until the second half of this year, rather than in the current quarter as originally scheduled.
"We recognize the challenges in the current market environment and believe the best approach is to present the most robust datasets for both programs," said Rachel Haurwitz, CEO of Caribou, in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Strategic Pivot to Cancer Cell Therapies
The company is abandoning its lupus program before dosing any patients in a planned clinical trial, despite receiving regulatory clearance last year to test the therapy in humans. Caribou is also halting preclinical research and a Phase 1 study in leukemia to concentrate resources on two key programs:
- CB-010: An allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy targeting CD19 for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- CB-011: An allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy for multiple myeloma
For CB-010, Caribou is currently enrolling patients in a Phase 1 trial focused on second-line large B cell lymphoma. The company plans to report results after the majority of study participants have completed at least six months of follow-up, which would provide more comprehensive data on the therapy's durability. The delayed readout will also include data from up to 10 patients who have relapsed following other CD19-targeted treatments.
Caribou claims its existing data suggest CB-010 can "drive outcomes that are on par" with approved personalized cell therapies for cancer, a critical benchmark for the company's allogeneic approach.
Later this year, the company will also present initial data on at least 25 multiple myeloma patients who have received CB-011 in an ongoing trial, with a minimum of three months of follow-up.
Financial Implications and Market Position
Prior to the restructuring, Caribou reported approximately $213 million in cash as of the end of March 2023, which would have sustained operations through the second half of 2026. The cost-cutting measures will extend the company's financial runway through late 2027, providing additional time to advance its remaining pipeline candidates.
The company's market position has deteriorated significantly since its 2021 initial public offering, which raised $304 million. Once valued at $700 million, Caribou's market capitalization has plummeted to approximately $78 million—less than its cash on hand—with shares trading below $1.
Industry Context and Challenges
Caribou's strategic pivot reflects broader challenges facing companies developing "off-the-shelf" cell therapies. These allogeneic approaches aim to provide ready-made treatments derived from healthy donors, in contrast to autologous CAR-T therapies that require harvesting and engineering a patient's own cells.
While the allogeneic approach offers potential advantages in manufacturing, availability, and cost, these therapies have generally struggled to demonstrate the same level of efficacy and durability as personalized CAR-T treatments already approved for blood cancers.
Caribou had previously joined several cell therapy developers in exploring applications for autoimmune diseases like lupus, a trend that gained momentum as companies sought new indications for their platforms. The decision to abandon this direction represents a significant reversal in strategy.
The Road Ahead
The restructuring effectively represents an all-or-nothing bet on Caribou's remaining cancer programs. By delaying data readouts to gather more comprehensive results, the company hopes to present compelling evidence that its CRISPR-engineered allogeneic cell therapies can match the clinical performance of approved autologous products.
For CB-010, the company will focus on demonstrating durable responses in large B cell lymphoma, including in patients who have relapsed after prior CD19-directed therapies. For CB-011, the initial data in multiple myeloma will need to show promising efficacy signals to justify continued development.
The success or failure of these programs will likely determine whether Caribou can reverse its declining fortunes and validate its approach to developing off-the-shelf cell therapies using its CRISPR gene editing technology.
