Caribou Biosciences, Inc. products

Our next-generation chRDNA genome-editing platform is the foundation for the development of differentiated allogeneic cell therapies. Our chRDNA technology enables multiple genome edits, including multiplex gene insertions, with a high degree of specificity and lower levels of off-target editing than first generation CRISPR-Cas9.

CAR-T cell therapies are a class of treatments in which T cells are modified to express chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). CARs are engineered molecules that, when present on the surface of a T cell, enable a T cell to recognize a specific protein that is present on the surface of other cells, including cancer cells. Upon recognition of the target cell via the CAR, the CAR-T cell kills the targeted cell. CAR-T cells have demonstrated great success in the clinic, but currently marketed therapies are derived from a patient’s own cells and are therefore available to a limited patient population. We are developing differentiated, off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapies, derived from healthy donor T cells, that are genome-edited to improve persistence of antitumor activity and potential therapeutic benefit.

Natural killer (NK) cells, as their name implies, play an important role in ridding the body of cancer and viruses. NK cells are emerging as an increasingly important cell type for therapeutic development. Solid tumors are particularly challenging to treat and CAR-T cells have largely underperformed in the solid tumor setting. NK cells, however, inherently target both primary solid tumors and metastases. We are developing CAR-NK therapies for the treatment of multiple solid tumor types. We are able to differentiate NK cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that we edit in multiple ways to address targeting, trafficking, proliferation, and overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.