Caribou Biosciences halts pipeline and announces major workforce cut

Caribou Biosciences, a Bay Area biotech that develops off-the-shelf CAR-T cell therapies, said it will stop all clinical development and begin a substantial workforce reduction.

The company, which spun out of Jennifer Doudna's lab in 2011 and had 97 full-time staff at the end of February, did not disclose how many jobs will be eliminated, but expects the cuts to be largely finished by the fourth quarter of 2026.

Caribou reported $113.8 million in cash on hand as of June 30 and indicated the board is exploring strategic alternatives such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets or the entire company.

CEO Rachel Haurwitz described the situation as "heartbreaking" and expressed hope that other organizations might continue development of the off-the-shelf CAR-T programs.