Caribou Biosciences to shut down after failing to fund lymphoma CAR-T trial
The Berkeley, California biotech, which grew out of Jennifer Doudna's lab, said it will stop work on two CRISPR-based CAR-T therapies after failing to raise trial funding.
Key facts
- Caribou Biosciences is shutting down after failing to raise money to fund a late-stage clinical trial, the company said on Tuesday.
- The Berkeley, California-based company will discontinue development of its two CRISPR-based CAR-T therapies, including vispa-cel for advanced B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- According to STAT News, Caribou had worked with the Food and Drug Administration over the past year to finalize the design of a Phase 3 trial for vispa-cel.
- CEO Rachel Haurwitz told STAT that raising the money to pay for the study proved too difficult.
- The company originated from the research lab of CRISPR scientist and Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna.
Caribou Biosciences is shutting down after failing to raise the money needed to fund a late-stage clinical trial of its CAR-T therapy for lymphoma, the company said on Tuesday. STAT News reported the shutdown on 7 October 2026. The Berkeley, California-based biotech was borne from the research lab of CRISPR scientist and Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna.
The company will discontinue clinical development of its two CRISPR-based CAR-T therapies, STAT News reported. One of them, vispa-cel, was being developed for the treatment of advanced B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
According to STAT News, Caribou had worked successfully with the Food and Drug Administration over the past year to finalize the design of a Phase 3 trial for vispa-cel. Chief executive Rachel Haurwitz told STAT that raising the money to pay for the study proved too difficult.
Context
Caribou Biosciences began in the research lab of Jennifer Doudna, a CRISPR scientist and Nobel laureate; CRISPR is a gene-editing tool, and CAR-T therapies are cancer treatments that use engineered immune cells. STAT News described Caribou's lymphoma therapy, vispa-cel, as an 'off-the-shelf' treatment, meaning it is made in advance rather than created for each patient.
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