Caribou Biosciences cuts 47 jobs, drops programs, sees cash runway into second half of 2027

Caribou Biosciences, Inc. announced a pipeline prioritization on April 24, 2025 that includes a workforce reduction of 47 employees, or approximately 32% of the company. The restructuring also ends several programs. Caribou says it now expects its runway of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities to be sufficient to fund planned operations into the second half of 2027. The company disclosed the details in a Form 8-K filed April 24, 2025.

The restructuring

Under Item 2.05, the company says it will focus resources on its lead oncology programs. These are CB-010, an allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy in its ANTLER phase 1 trial in patients with B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and CB-011, an allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy in its CaMMouflage phase 1 trial in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

To do so, Caribou has elected to discontinue three things. The first is its GALLOP phase 1 trial of CB-010 in patients with lupus, which it is stopping before dosing the first patient. The second is its AMpLify phase 1 trial of CB-012, an allogeneic anti-CLL-1 CAR-T cell therapy, in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, because additional data would be needed to advance the program. The third is its preclinical research. Patients treated in the AMpLify trial will continue to be followed in the company's long-term follow up study.

The company expects to substantially complete the workforce reduction by the end of the second quarter of 2025.

Costs and cash

Caribou estimates it will incur approximately $2.5 million to $3.5 million in total expenses, mostly cash severance costs, benefits and transition support for affected employees, plus the cost of winding down the two trials. Workforce reduction costs are estimated at $1.8 million to $2.0 million, expected in the second quarter of 2025. Trial wind-down costs are estimated at $0.7 million to $1.5 million, expected through the third quarter of 2025. The company says actual results may differ materially.

On a preliminary, unaudited basis, the company expects to report $212.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2025. It says this is an estimate that could change as it completes its quarter-end financial close and that it does not give a full picture of its financial condition.

Trial data timing

Caribou also gave new timing for clinical updates. It now plans to present data in the second half of 2025 from a 20-patient confirmatory cohort of CB-010 in second-line large B cell lymphoma, along with a proof of concept cohort of up to 10 patients who relapsed after earlier CD19-targeted therapy. It expects the second-line cohort data to include at least six months of follow-up for the majority of patients. For CB-011, it plans to present dose escalation data and recommended doses for expansion in the second half of 2025. It says that will include initial safety and efficacy data on a minimum of 25 patients, with at least three months of follow up.

About the company

According to its annual report filed March 10, 2025, Caribou is a clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company. It uses its chRDNA technology to edit allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies, which are made in advance from healthy donor cells. Before this announcement, the report listed four clinical programs: CB-010 in lymphoma, CB-010 in lupus, CB-011 in multiple myeloma and CB-012 in acute myeloid leukemia. Deloitte & Touche LLP signed the auditor's report in that annual report.

Rachel E. Haurwitz, President and Chief Executive Officer, signed the 8-K. Sriram Ryali signed the annual report as Chief Financial Officer.

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