BERKELEY, Calif., April 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Caribou Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRBU), a leading clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company, today announced two abstracts have been accepted for poster presentations at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, which will be held May 31-June 4, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.

The ANTLER poster will provide initial dose expansion data. Details of the poster presentation are as follows:

Title: A CRISPR-edited allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy with a PD-1 knockout (CB-010) in patients with relapsed/refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r B-NHL): Updated Phase 1 results from the ANTLER trial
Presenter: Boyu Hu, MD, assistant professor, director of lymphoma and CLL, division of hematology/hematologic malignancies, Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah
Date and time: Monday, June 3, 2024, 9:00 am-12:00 pm CDT
Session: Hematologic Malignancies – Lymphoma and CLL
Location: McCormick Place, Chicago
Abstract number: 7025

The AMpLify poster will provide details on the clinical trial design and objectives. Details of the poster presentation are as follows:

Title: A first-in-human Phase 1, multicenter, open-label study of CB-012, a next-generation CRISPR-edited allogeneic anti-CLL-1 CAR-T cell therapy for adults with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AMpLify)
Presenter: Naval Daver, MD, associate professor and director of the Leukemia Research Alliance Program, department of leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Date and time: Monday, June 3, 2024, 9:00 am-12:00 pm CDT
Session: Hematologic Malignancies – Leukemia, Myelodysplastic syndromes, and allotransplant
Location: McCormick Place
Abstract number: TPS6586

Abstracts will be available on the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting website on May 23, 2024 at 4:00 pm CDT. Poster presentations will be available on the Scientific Publications page of Caribou’s website on Monday, June 3, 2024 at 9:00 am CDT.

About CB-010
CB-010 is the lead clinical-stage product candidate from Caribou’s allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy platform, and it is being evaluated in patients with relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (r/r B-NHL) in the ongoing ANTLER Phase 1 clinical trial and will be evaluated in patients with lupus nephritis (LN) and extrarenal lupus (ERL) in the GALLOP Phase 1 clinical trial. In ANTLER, Caribou is enrolling second-line patients with large B cell lymphoma (LBCL) comprised of different subtypes of aggressive r/r B-NHL (DLBCL NOS, PMBCL, HGBL, tFL, and tMZL). CB-010 is an allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy engineered using Cas9 CRISPR hybrid RNA-DNA (chRDNA) technology. To Caribou’s knowledge, CB-010 is the first allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in the clinic with a PD-1 knockout, a genome-editing strategy designed to improve activity against diseases by limiting premature CAR-T cell exhaustion. CB-010 is also, to Caribou’s knowledge, the first anti-CD19 allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy to be evaluated in the second-line LBCL setting and, for r/r B-NHL, CB-010 has been granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT), Fast Track, and Orphan Drug designations by the FDA. Additional information on the ANTLER trial (NCT04637763) can be found at clinicaltrials.gov.

About CB-012
CB-012 is a product candidate from Caribou’s allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy platform and is being evaluated in the AMpLify Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (r/r AML). CB-012 is an anti-CLL-1 CAR-T cell therapy engineered with five genome edits, enabled by Caribou’s patented next-generation CRISPR technology platform, which uses Cas12a chRDNA genome editing to significantly improve the specificity of genome edits. To Caribou’s knowledge, CB-012 is the first allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy with both checkpoint disruption, through a PD-1 knockout, and immune cloaking, through a B2M knockout and B2M–HLA-E fusion protein insertion; both armoring strategies are designed to improve antitumor activity. Caribou has exclusively in-licensed from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in the field of allogeneic CLL-1-targeted cell therapy a panel of fully human scFvs targeting CLL-1, from which the company has selected an appropriate scFv for the generation of the company’s CAR. Additional information on the AMpLify trial (NCT06128044) can be found at clinicaltrials.gov.

About Caribou’s novel next-generation CRISPR platform
CRISPR genome editing uses easily designed, modular biological tools to make DNA changes in living cells. There are two basic components of Class 2 CRISPR systems: the nuclease protein that cuts DNA and the RNA molecule(s) that guide the nuclease to generate a site-specific, double-stranded break, leading to an edit at the targeted genomic site. CRISPR systems are capable of editing unintended genomic sites, known as off-target editing, which may lead to harmful effects on cellular function and phenotype. In response to this challenge, Caribou has developed CRISPR hybrid RNA-DNA guides (chRDNAs; pronounced “chardonnays”) that direct substantially more precise genome editing compared to all-RNA guides. Caribou is deploying the power of its Cas12a chRDNA technology to carry out high efficiency multiple edits, including multiplex gene insertions, to develop CRISPR-edited therapies.

About Caribou Biosciences, Inc.
Caribou Biosciences is a clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing transformative therapies for patients with devastating diseases. The company’s genome-editing platform, including its Cas12a chRDNA technology, enables superior precision to develop cell therapies that are armored to potentially improve activity against diseases. Caribou is advancing a pipeline of off-the-shelf cell therapies from its CAR-T cell platform as readily available treatments for patients with hematologic malignancies and autoimmune diseases. Follow us @CaribouBio and visit www.cariboubio.com.

Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements related to Caribou’s strategy, plans, and objectives, and expectations regarding its clinical and preclinical development programs, including its expectations relating to the timing of status and updates from its ANTLER Phase 1 clinical trial for CB-010, including expectations regarding the timing of reporting initial dose expansion data from the ANTLER trial, as well as the status and updates from its AMpLify Phase 1 clinical trial for CB-012 and its GALLOP Phase 1 clinical trial for CB-010. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks inherent in the development of cell therapy products; uncertainties related to the initiation, cost, timing, progress, and results of Caribou’s current and future research and development programs, preclinical studies, and clinical trials; and the risk that initial, preliminary, or interim clinical trial data will not ultimately be predictive of the safety and efficacy of Caribou’s product candidates or that clinical outcomes may differ as patient enrollment continues and as more patient data becomes available; the risk that preclinical study results observed will not be borne out in human patients or different conclusions or considerations are reached once additional data have been received and fully evaluated; the ability to obtain key regulatory input and approvals as well as other risk factors described from time to time in Caribou’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and subsequent filings. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Except as required by law, Caribou undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Caribou Biosciences, Inc. contacts:
Investors:
Amy Figueroa, CFA
investor.relations@cariboubio.com

Media:
Peggy Vorwald, PhD
media@cariboubio.com