Carisma Therapeutics Stock Price, News & Analysis
Company Description
Carisma Therapeutics Inc (CARM) was a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that pioneered the development of chimeric antigen receptor macrophage (CAR-M) therapies. The company focused on engineering macrophages and monocytes to treat solid tumors and fibrotic diseases, areas where traditional CAR-T cell therapies have shown limited efficacy. Following regulatory and financial challenges, the company delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market and now trades on the OTC Markets under the symbol CARM while pursuing an orderly wind down of operations.
CAR-Macrophage Technology Platform
Carisma's core innovation centered on reprogramming macrophages, a type of immune cell that naturally infiltrates solid tumors, to recognize and attack cancer cells. Unlike CAR-T therapies that struggle to penetrate the dense tumor microenvironment of solid tumors, macrophages are inherently capable of tumor infiltration. The CAR-M platform aimed to combine this natural advantage with chimeric antigen receptor technology to create a new class of cell therapies specifically designed for solid tumor oncology.
Development Pipeline
The company's pipeline included two main therapeutic approaches:
- Ex Vivo Oncology: CT-1119, a CAR-monocyte targeting mesothelin-positive solid tumors including pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, and mesothelioma
- Liver Fibrosis Program: CT-2401, an mRNA/LNP-based therapy designed to address efferocytosis defects in liver macrophages to reverse fibrotic disease in patients with metabolic-associated liver disease
Moderna Collaboration
Carisma established a strategic collaboration with Moderna to develop in vivo CAR-M therapies using mRNA technology. This partnership focused on creating injectable CAR-M therapies that could potentially reprogram macrophages directly within the body, eliminating the need for complex ex vivo cell manufacturing. Under this collaboration, Moderna nominated multiple oncology targets, including an anti-GPC3 program for hepatocellular carcinoma.
Corporate Status and Wind Down
Carisma Therapeutics faced significant operational and financial headwinds that led to a strategic restructuring. The company reduced its workforce to essential personnel and paused all research and development activities. After failing to meet Nasdaq listing requirements for bid price, market value of listed securities, and market value of publicly held shares, the company received a delisting determination and its common stock was suspended from Nasdaq trading. The stock transitioned to the OTCID market tier. The company is pursuing strategic alternatives, which may include the sale or licensing of assets, partnerships, or an orderly wind down of operations.
Scientific Foundation
The company's approach to macrophage engineering drew from research into the tumor microenvironment and the role of innate immune cells in cancer. Solid tumors typically recruit macrophages and reprogram them into tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) that support rather than fight cancer growth. Carisma's technology aimed to overcome this tumor immune evasion by engineering macrophages with synthetic receptors that maintain their anti-tumor activity even within the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.