Company Description
Caribou Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRBU) is a clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company focused on developing cell therapies for patients with devastating diseases, particularly hematologic malignancies. The company applies its genome-editing platform, including Cas12a chRDNA (CRISPR hybrid RNA-DNA) technology, to create allogeneic, or off-the-shelf, CAR-T cell therapies that are designed to be manufactured in advance from healthy donors and available for rapid treatment and broad patient access.
Business focus and therapeutic area
According to the company’s disclosures, Caribou’s work centers on genome-edited cell therapies for oncology. Its allogeneic CAR-T product candidates are directed at established cell surface targets where autologous CAR-T therapies have already shown clinical proof of concept, specifically CD19 and B cell maturation antigen (BCMA). The company uses its chRDNA technologies to introduce multiple genome edits intended to “armor” its cell therapies, including checkpoint disruption and immune cloaking strategies, to potentially enhance activity against blood cancers.
Core pipeline and product candidates
Caribou is advancing two lead clinical-stage allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy programs for hematologic malignancies:
- Vispacabtagene regedleucel (vispa-cel; formerly CB-010) – an allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy being evaluated in adults with relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r B-NHL), including second-line large B cell lymphoma (2L LBCL), in the multicenter, open-label ANTLER phase 1 clinical trial.
- CB-011 – an allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy being evaluated in adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM) in the multicenter, open-label CaMMouflage phase 1 clinical trial.
Both vispa-cel and CB-011 are described by the company as off-the-shelf CAR-T therapies intended to provide rapid treatment and broad access for patients with hematologic malignancies.
Vispacabtagene regedleucel (vispa-cel) and the ANTLER trial
Vispa-cel is an allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy being studied in the ANTLER phase 1 trial for patients with r/r B-NHL, including 2L LBCL. To Caribou’s knowledge, vispa-cel is the first allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in the clinic with a PD-1 knockout, a genome-editing strategy designed to enhance CAR-T cell activity by limiting premature CAR-T cell exhaustion. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted vispa-cel Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT), Orphan Drug, and Fast Track designations for B-NHL.
In ANTLER, patients receive a lymphodepletion regimen of cyclophosphamide and fludarabine followed by a single dose of vispa-cel. The trial has included dose escalation, dose expansion, and a confirmatory cohort using a partial HLA matching strategy between donor and patient. Company-reported data describe an 84-patient safety dataset and analyses of a 22-patient confirmatory cohort and a 35-patient optimized profile cohort of CD19‑naïve LBCL patients, with reported overall response rates and complete response rates and a generally well-tolerated safety profile that allowed outpatient administration at both academic centers and sophisticated community hospitals.
CB-011 and the CaMMouflage trial
CB-011 is an allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy in the CaMMouflage phase 1 trial for adults with r/r MM who have received three or more prior lines of therapy. To Caribou’s knowledge, CB-011 is the first allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in the clinic engineered with an immune cloaking strategy that combines a B2M knockout and insertion of a B2M–HLA-E fusion protein to blunt immune-mediated rejection. CB-011 has received Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations from the FDA.
In the dose escalation portion of CaMMouflage, CB-011 has been evaluated at multiple CAR-T cell dose levels and under two different lymphodepletion regimens based on cyclophosphamide and fludarabine. Company communications describe responses across dose levels in heavily pretreated, fourth-line and later multiple myeloma patients, and identify a single-dose 450 million CAR-T cell regimen with a specified lymphodepletion schedule as the recommended dose for expansion.
Genome-editing platform and technology
Caribou describes itself as a CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company. Its platform includes Cas12a chRDNA technology, which the company states enables superior precision to develop cell therapies that are armored to potentially improve activity against disease. The platform is used to implement multiple genome-editing strategies in its allogeneic CAR-T cell products, including PD-1 disruption in vispa-cel and immune cloaking edits in CB-011.
Regulatory designations and clinical-stage status
The company emphasizes that it is in the clinical stage, with its lead programs in phase 1 trials. Vispa-cel has RMAT, Orphan Drug, and Fast Track designations for B-NHL, and CB-011 has Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations for r/r MM. Caribou has also reported interactions with the FDA regarding a planned randomized, controlled pivotal phase 3 trial of vispa-cel in 2L LBCL CD19-naïve patients who are ineligible for transplant and autologous CAR-T therapy, with progression-free survival as a planned primary endpoint.
Business model and operations
Caribou’s disclosures indicate that it operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a pipeline of allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies. Its product candidates are manufactured in advance from healthy donor T cells, with the goal of enabling broad patient access, shorter time to treatment, and increased manufacturing scale compared to autologous approaches. The company has also reported licensing and collaboration revenue in its financial updates, reflecting arrangements related to its technologies.
Exchange listing and compliance
Caribou Biosciences’ common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol CRBU. An 8-K dated June 18, 2025, reports that the company received a compliance notice from Nasdaq indicating it had regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1), which requires a minimum closing bid price of $1.00 per share.
Company status
Recent press releases and Form 8-K filings describe ongoing clinical development, financial reporting, and participation in healthcare and biopharma investor conferences. There is no indication in the provided materials of bankruptcy, liquidation, merger completion, or delisting from Nasdaq.
FAQs about Caribou Biosciences (CRBU)
- What does Caribou Biosciences do?
Caribou Biosciences is a clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company. It develops allogeneic, off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapies that use genome-editing strategies to target hematologic malignancies, including B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma. - What are Caribou’s lead product candidates?
The company’s lead product candidates are vispacabtagene regedleucel (vispa-cel; formerly CB-010), an allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy for relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and CB-011, an allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. - What is special about Caribou’s genome-editing platform?
Caribou uses a genome-editing platform that includes Cas12a chRDNA technology. The company states that this platform enables precise genome editing and allows it to armor its allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies through strategies such as PD-1 knockout and immune cloaking edits. - What clinical trials is Caribou running?
Caribou is conducting the ANTLER phase 1 clinical trial of vispa-cel in adults with relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and the CaMMouflage phase 1 clinical trial of CB-011 in adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior lines of therapy. - What regulatory designations have Caribou’s therapies received?
Vispa-cel has received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy, Orphan Drug, and Fast Track designations from the FDA for B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. CB-011 has received Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations from the FDA for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. - How does Caribou describe the potential advantages of its allogeneic CAR-T therapies?
In its filings, the company states that its allogeneic CAR-T therapies are manufactured in advance from healthy donors and are intended to offer broad patient access, shorter time to treatment with an off-the-shelf product, significantly lower manufacturing costs, and a smaller manufacturing footprint compared to autologous CAR-T therapies. For CB-011, the company also cites a single-dose regimen and potential differences in infection rates and immune recovery compared to bispecific antibody therapies. - What is the ANTLER trial’s focus within lymphoma?
The ANTLER phase 1 trial evaluates vispa-cel in relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including second-line large B cell lymphoma. It has included dose escalation, dose expansion, and a confirmatory cohort that prospectively assesses partial HLA matching between donor and patient. - What is the CaMMouflage trial evaluating?
The CaMMouflage phase 1 trial evaluates CB-011 in adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received three or more prior lines of therapy. The trial uses a 3+3 dose escalation design with multiple CAR-T cell dose levels and different lymphodepletion regimens, and is proceeding toward a dose expansion phase at a selected dose and regimen. - On which exchange does CRBU trade?
Caribou Biosciences’ common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol CRBU. - Has Caribou regained compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements?
An 8-K dated June 18, 2025, reports that Nasdaq notified Caribou that it had regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) after the company’s common stock maintained a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share over a specified period.