Caribou Biosciences, maker of CAR-T therapy for lymphoma, to shutter

Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.

Caribou Biosciences is shutting down after failing to raise the money necessary to fund a late-stage clinical trial of its off-the-shelf CAR-T therapy for lymphoma, the company said Tuesday.

The Berkeley, Calif.-based biotech, borne from the research lab of CRISPR scientist and Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, will discontinue clinical development of its two CRISPR-based CAR-T therapies, including vispa-cel for the treatment of advanced B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Over the past year, Caribou had worked successfully with the Food and Drug Administration to finalize the design of a Phase 3 trial for vespa-cel. Unfortunately, raising the money to pay for the study proved too difficult, Caribou CEO Rachel Haurwitz told STAT.

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