Caribou Biosciences, Inc.

What they do

Caribou uses its chRDNA (CRISPR hybrid RNA-DNA) genome-editing platform to engineer allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies manufactured in advance from healthy donor cells. Its two clinical-stage candidates are vispa-cel (anti-CD19, formerly CB-010) in the ANTLER phase 1 trial for relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and CB-011 (anti-BCMA) in the CaMMouflage phase 1 trial for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The company has no approved products and has never generated revenue from product sales.

Revenue drivers

• Product sales — None. Caribou has not commercialized any product and has never generated revenue from product sales, per the 10-K risk factors.
• Total revenue (collaboration/other) — Reported revenue was $11.2M in 2025, up from $10.0M in 2024 but below the $34.5M reported in 2023; the excerpts do not break out the sources of this revenue.
• Quarterly revenue trend — Quarterly revenue was $2.2M (Q3 2025), $3.9M (Q4 2025), $2.4M (Q1 2026), and $1.5M (Q2 2026), so the most recent quarter declined sequentially.
• Grant and designation-based programs — Vispa-cel holds FDA RMAT, fast track, and orphan drug designations; CB-011 holds RMAT, fast track, and orphan drug designations for r/r MM. The excerpts do not quantify any revenue associated with these designations.

Recent performance

For full year 2025, Caribou reported revenue of $11.2M, a net loss of $148.1M, diluted EPS of -$1.59, and operating cash flow of -$111.0M. The net loss was roughly flat versus 2024's $149.1M, while operating cash use improved from -$138.2M in 2024. In Q2 2026, revenue was $1.5M, down from $2.4M in Q1 2026 and $3.9M in Q4 2025. As of June 30, 2026, total assets were $142.8M, total liabilities $44.7M, shareholders' equity $98.1M, and cash and equivalents $26.2M. At EHA 2026, the company presented ANTLER phase 1 data in 2L LBCL (N=27) showing an 82% ORR, 67% CR rate, and 17.1-month median PFS, and CaMMouflage data in 12 BCMA-naive patients at the 450 million-cell RDE showing 92% ORR, 83% CR/sCR, and 91% MRD negativity in 10/11 evaluable patients.

Strategy

On April 24, 2025, Caribou announced a strategic pipeline prioritization with workforce and cost reductions to focus on vispa-cel and CB-011, discontinuing the GALLOP lupus trial of vispa-cel before first patient dosing, the AMpLify phase 1 trial of CB-012 in r/r AML, and preclinical research; the workforce was cut by 47 employees, about 32%. It terminated its MSKCC license agreement effective August 11, 2025 in connection with the CB-012 discontinuation. On May 7, 2026, the company said it reached alignment with the FDA on the design of ANTLER-3, a planned randomized, controlled pivotal phase 3 trial expected to enroll approximately 250 CD19-naive 2L LBCL patients not eligible for transplant and not candidates or eligible for autologous CAR-T. The 10-K states the company will need substantial additional financing to conduct the planned pivotal trial for vispa-cel and implement its operating plans. Caribou is also enrolling BCMA-naive and prior BCMA-exposed r/r MM patients in the dose expansion portion of CaMMouflage.

Risks

• Need for substantial additional capital — The 10-K states Caribou will need substantial additional financing to conduct the planned pivotal vispa-cel trial and that failure to raise it would prevent completion of development and commercialization of vispa-cel and/or CB-011.
• No research pipeline — The 10-K risk factors state that if Caribou cannot fund clinical development of one or both product candidates, or if either is not clinically successful or approved, it currently has no research pipeline from which to generate new product candidates.
• Clinical and regulatory uncertainty — Both candidates remain in phase 1; the 10-K notes it will be many years before any product is commercialized, that the FDA or other agencies may disagree with its regulatory plans, and that allogeneic CAR-T candidates will be regulated as biologics with uncertainty around nonpatent regulatory exclusivity.
• Thin cash relative to planned phase 3 — Cash and equivalents were $26.2M at June 30, 2026, against a planned ANTLER-3 phase 3 trial targeting approximately 250 patients and a 2025 operating cash outflow of $111.0M.

Outlook

Management expects to report initial safety and efficacy from the CaMMouflage dose expansion in more than 15 patients with a minimum of three months of follow-up in the second half of 2026, along with longer follow-up data on the 12-patient BCMA-naive RDE cohort. The company has FDA alignment on the ANTLER-3 pivotal phase 3 design for vispa-cel in 2L LBCL and describes funding that trial as requiring substantial additional capital. No revenue-generating product is expected; Caribou has not commercialized any product and has never generated product sales revenue.