Caribou Biosciences is shutting down its top cancer programs after running out of options to raise more cash. The company, which Jennifer Doudna helped launch, will stop its clinical work in B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Caribou’s board is now looking at selling the company, merging, or breaking up its assets, according to an official statement.
This turn comes just five years after Caribou’s splashy IPO, which brought in $350 million and put the company at the front of the gene-edited cell therapy race. Caribou used its own CRISPR platform to engineer immune cells from healthy donors for cancer patients, but its cash pile has dried up. The company now faces restructuring costs between $15 million and $19 million, with $10 million to $11 million set aside for severance and healthcare, based on a recent SEC filing. Shutting down the ANTLER phase 1 trial in non-Hodgkin lymphoma and the CaMMouflage phase 1 trial in multiple myeloma will tack on another $5 million to $8 million in expenses.
Vispa-cel, Caribou's lead CAR-T therapy for lymphoma, had reached readiness for phase 3 trials with FDA agreement on study design, but the company was unable to secure the funding needed to advance.
Caribou’s technology, built on a CRISPR gene editing method co-invented by Doudna, set out to change cancer care by precisely tweaking donor immune cells. The approach drew big interest from investors and scientists, but the high hopes for next-generation cell therapies have run into the hard limits of clinical trial costs. In August, Caribou reported a $1.2 million drop in revenue from licensing and third-party deals for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. The company has already cut $2.5 million from payroll and nearly $9 million from research and development spending.
Rachel Haurwitz, Caribou’s president and CEO, called the move to halt these programs “an extraordinarily difficult decision.” She stressed that the company still believes in the therapies’ potential for patients. But with no new funding, Caribou has had to scale back. The company plans major layoffs, most of which will wrap up by the fourth quarter of 2026. After that, only a small group will stay on to manage the strategic review and wind down operations, as detailed in reporting by MedCity News.
CRISPR ambitions run into financial headwinds
Caribou’s troubles mirror the rough ride many clinical-stage biotechs face, especially those working on complex cell and gene therapies. The company’s current state is a far cry from the optimism that surrounded its IPO and the buzz around CRISPR-based medicine. Jennifer Doudna’s influence still stretches beyond Caribou—she also co-founded Mammoth Biosciences, and her work continues to shape gene editing. For more on the wider gene editing field, see this earlier breakdown of rising stars in the area.
Caribou’s choice to wind down its lead programs and consider a sale shows that even the most celebrated science platforms can get tripped up by money troubles. The company’s struggle to turn scientific promise into a stable business highlights how unforgiving biotech capital markets can be. In this climate, only those with both technical know-how and financial staying power will make it from lab to market.
The discontinuation of Caribou's programs means the immediate halt of the vispa-cel phase 1 ANTLER trial for lymphoma and the CB-011 phase 1 CaMMouflage trial for multiple myeloma. CB-011 was designed as an allogeneic CAR-T therapy targeting the BCMA protein in myeloma.
