Our mission is to develop innovative, transformative therapies for patients with devastating diseases through novel genome editing
Founded by pioneers of CRISPR biology
Caribou is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, founded by pioneers in CRISPR genome editing, leveraging our proprietary technology to develop genome-edited off-the-shelf immune cell therapies for the treatment of cancer. We believe that cell therapies are critical now and for the future of cancer therapy and that advanced genome editing is necessary to develop sophisticated cell therapies to treat a variety of malignancies. We are developing a pipeline of genome-edited, off-the-shelf CAR-T and CAR-NK cell therapies for a range of tumor types.
Leadership Team
Executive Leadership Team
Rachel Haurwitz, Ph.D.
Rachel is a co-founder of Caribou Biosciences and has been its President and Chief Executive Officer and a director since the company’s inception in 2011. Rachel is an inventor on patents and patent applications covering multiple CRISPR-based technologies, and has co-authored several scientific papers in high-impact journals characterizing CRISPR-Cas systems. In 2014, she was named by Forbes Magazine to the “30 Under 30” list in Science and Healthcare, and in 2016, Fortune Magazine named her to the “40 Under 40” list of the most influential young people in business. In 2018, the Association for Women in Science recognized Rachel with the annual Next Generation Award. She serves on the board of directors of Seer, Inc. and the Biotechnology Organization (BIO). Rachel earned an A.B. in Biological Sciences from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Steven Kanner, Ph.D.
Steve is the Chief Scientific Officer of Caribou Biosciences responsible for the company’s therapeutic discovery, research, and development activities. Before joining Caribou in 2017, Steve was Vice President, Head of Biology, at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, leading a department in discovery of RNAi therapeutics for oncology, genetic diseases, and other indications. Prior to Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, he served in various positions of increasing responsibility in both oncology and inflammation drug discovery at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Agensys/Astellas, and Astex Pharmaceuticals. Steve has authored over 85 publications in both peer-reviewed journals and books, and he is an inventor on numerous U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications. Steve received his undergraduate degree in Genetics from the University of California, Berkeley and his Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. His post-doctoral fellowship was funded by the National Institutes of Health and was conducted at the University of Virginia.
Ruhi Khan
Ruhi serves as Chief Business Officer for Caribou Biosciences, responsible for developing and executing on business development strategy. She brings over 20 years of business development and investment management experience focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Most recently, she was the founder of an advisory firm that provided business development and finance advice to life sciences companies. In this role she had extensive senior management experience as head of business development for several oncology-focused companies. Previously, she was the Head and Vice President of Business Development for Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. Prior to Acorda, she worked in a similar capacity at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. She started her career in venture capital with Fidelity Biosciences Group (now F-Prime Capital) and MPM Capital Advisors. Ruhi holds an M.B.A. in health care management from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and an A.B. in biology from Harvard College.
Barbara McClung, J.D.
Barbara serves as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary for Caribou Biosciences, where she is responsible for all legal functions, including intellectual property strategy and portfolio management, contracts, corporate transactions, board governance, and employment law. In addition, the company’s human resources function reports to Barbara. Prior to joining Caribou in 2015, she headed the legal functions at Intarcia Therapeutics, Inc. and Cygnus, Inc. Barbara began her career as a patent attorney with E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and then joined Chiron Corporation where she was patent counsel for Chiron’s vaccine division. Barbara is a member of the California, Delaware, and Pennsylvania state bars, and is a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She received a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Jason O’Byrne
Jason is Chief Financial Officer for Caribou Biosciences responsible for the finance and investor relations functions. Prior to joining Caribou in 2021, he was Senior Vice President of Finance at Audentes Therapeutics, Inc., where he led financial operations for the gene therapy company. Before Audentes, he spent 13 years with Genentech and Roche, holding finance leadership and executive positions across the research, development, manufacturing, business development, and commercial functions. Earlier in his career, Jason was regional controller with General Chemical and an engineer with General Motors. Jason holds an M.B.A. from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia.
Senior Leadership Team
Cherry Thomas, M.D.
Cherry is the Senior Vice President of Clinical Development at Caribou Biosciences, leading and overseeing the advancement of the Company’s allogeneic cell therapy candidates. She most recently served as Vice President of Clinical Development at Array Biopharma in the oncology division. Cherry previously served in leadership positions with increasing responsibility at multiple companies including as Executive Director of Clinical Development at BeiGene, Ltd. where she oversaw development programs aimed to evaluate an immuno-oncology combination therapy targeting solid tumors. She also held the role of Vice President of Clinical Development at Jounce Therapeutics where she managed the company’s early development program and guided clinical trial execution. In addition, Cherry held leadership clinical development and medical roles in oncology at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, and Amgen. Cherry earned her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles; her M.A. from Johns Hopkins University; and her M.D. from the University of California, Irvine. She completed an internship at the University of California, Los Angeles and a residency at the University of Michigan.
Elaine Alambra
Elaine serves as the Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance for Caribou Biosciences. She brings more than 30 years of experience in regulatory affairs and quality assurance with biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies in all phases of development in multiple therapeutic areas, including immunology (vaccines), oncology, ophthalmology, and dermatology. Previously, Elaine was Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs at Dynavax Technologies, during which time she led the regulatory effort for HEPLISAV-B® and its U.S. BLA approval and European licensing applications. Elaine has held a variety of regulatory and quality positions of increasing responsibility at Allergan, Santen Pharmaceuticals, PrisMedical, and Dey Laboratories. Elaine holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of California, Irvine.
Amy Figueroa, CFA
Amy serves as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications for Caribou Biosciences, responsible for developing and leading a strategic investor relations and communications program. She brings 20 years of experience and over the last five years served as an advisor and as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications for Adverum Biotechnologies. Previously, Amy served as an advisor to public and private clients, helped lead Aimmune Therapeutics’ IPO, and led investor relations at Onyx Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Amgen) over a period of significant transformation and value creation. She holds a B.A. from Willamette University and an M.B.A. in Global Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management and is a CFA Charterholder.
Ryan Fischesser
Ryan is the Vice President of Finance and Controller for Caribou Biosciences. Ryan began his career in public accounting over a decade ago with a focus on audit and accounting services. In 2012, he co-founded the CPA firm BHLF LLP where he provided audit and outsourced accounting services to clients in the life science, waste management, and airline industries. He received his B.S. degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in financial services from Saint Mary’s College of California and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in California.
Chris Fuller, Ph.D.
As the Vice President of Informatics, Chris leads the informatics and software efforts at Caribou Biosciences. He has a background managing diverse teams in developing instrumentation, medical devices, software, and microfluidic systems. Prior to joining Caribou in 2014, he held research and leadership positions in consulting, startup, and established company environments, including Signature Bioscience, MDS Sciex, and Triple Ring Technologies. He led the development of the CellKey instrument for MDS Sciex from its inception through to product launch. Chris is an inventor on multiple patents and patent applications. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics from the University of California, San Francisco.
Scott Gradia, Ph.D.
Scott serves as the Vice President of Platform Research and directs the molecular biology lab capabilities, facility operations, and platform research and development at Caribou Biosciences. Scott also oversees the company’s technology development efforts. Before joining Caribou in 2015, Scott founded and led the MacroLab, a DNA cloning and protein purification facility on the University of California, Berkeley campus. Scott received his B.S. in Genetics from Iowa State University and his Ph.D. in Genetics from Thomas Jefferson University, where he was awarded the Weintraub Graduate Student Award for his work. He performed his post-doctoral work as a Damon-Runyon fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, studying structural biology.
Cindy Hayashi
As Vice President of Human Resources, Cindy leads the human resources function at Caribou Biosciences. Prior to joining Caribou, she held similar positions at StemCells, Inc. and Cygnus Therapeutics where she also managed the facilities and EHS functions. Cindy started her career with Procter and Gamble in manufacturing management after completing her B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of California, Berkeley.
Justin Skoble, Ph.D.
Justin is the Vice President of Technical Operations at Caribou Biosciences responsible for developing the company’s clinical trial materials. Before joining Caribou in 2019, Justin was most recently Chief Development Officer at Actym Therapeutics Inc., leading the development of microbial therapeutics for oncology. Prior to Actym, he served in various positions of increasing responsibility in immuno-oncology and vaccine development at Aduro Biotech, Anza Therapeutics, and Cerus Corporation. Justin has authored over 12 publications in peer-reviewed journals and is an inventor on numerous U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications. Justin earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from Vassar College and his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. He did his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
Board of Directors
Andrew Guggenhime
Andrew is the President and Chief Financial Officer at Vaxcyte, Inc., and he brings over 20 years of financial, strategy, and operational experience in the biotech industry. At Vaxcyte, Andrew is responsible for leading the finance, corporate development and strategy, investor relations, corporate communications, human resources, IT, and facilities functions, and he helped lead Vaxcyte’s initial public offering in 2020. Prior to joining Vaxcyte, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Dermira, Inc. through its acquisition by Eli Lilly and Company in February 2020. During his tenure at Dermira, Andrew successfully led a series of private, public, and alternative financings and helped scale the company, including through its pivotal transition into a commercial-stage organization. Previously, Andrew served as Chief Financial Officer at several fast-growing biotech companies including Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired by Gilead Sciences, Inc., and Facet Biotech Corporation, which was acquired by Abbott Laboratories. Earlier in his career, Andrew served as Chief Financial Officer of PDL BioPharma, Inc. until Facet Biotech was spun off from PDL BioPharma. Prior to joining Facet Biotech, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Neoforma, Inc., which was acquired by Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC. Andrew began his career in financial services at Merrill Lynch & Co. and Wells Fargo & Company. He earned his B.A. in international politics and economics from Middlebury College and his M.B.A. from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Scott Braunstein, M.D.
Scott currently serves as Chief Executive Officer and on the board of directors of Marinus Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to the development of innovative therapeutics that treat rare seizure disorders. He has held the role of operating partner at Aisling Capital since 2015. Prior to joining Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Braunstein previously served as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Earlier in his career, Dr. Braunstein served as a healthcare Portfolio Manager at Everpoint Asset Management and spent 12 years with J.P. Morgan Asset Management as a Healthcare Analyst and Managing Director on the U.S. equity team and as portfolio manager of the J.P. Morgan Global Healthcare Fund. Dr. Braunstein also serves as a board member of Trevena, Inc. He previously served as a board member of Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Ziopharm Oncology, Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., and Protara Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Braunstein began his career as a physician at the Summit Medical Group and as Assistant Clinical Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Columbia University Medical Center. He received his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and his B.S. from Cornell University.
Rachel Haurwitz, Ph.D.
Rachel is a co-founder of Caribou Biosciences and has been its President and Chief Executive Officer and a director since the company’s inception in 2011. Rachel is an inventor on patents and patent applications covering multiple CRISPR-based technologies, and has co-authored several scientific papers in high-impact journals characterizing CRISPR-Cas systems. In 2014, she was named by Forbes Magazine to the “30 Under 30” list in Science and Healthcare, and in 2016, Fortune Magazine named her to the “40 Under 40” list of the most influential young people in business. In 2018, the Association for Women in Science recognized Rachel with the annual Next Generation Award. She serves on the board of directors of Seer, Inc. and the Biotechnology Organization (BIO). Rachel earned an A.B. in Biological Sciences from Harvard College and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Dara Richardson-Heron, M.D.
Dara most recently served as Chief Patient Officer for Pfizer, Inc. and brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in the healthcare, corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors. Prior to Pfizer, she served as the Chief Engagement Officer and Scientific Executive for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Previously, she served as Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA of the USA and as Chief Executive Officer of the Greater NYC Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Earlier in her career, she worked with United Cerebral Palsy Association as Assistant Executive Director/National Chief Medical Officer and served as Executive Medical Director and Special Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at Consolidated Edison Company of New York. She earned an M.D. from New York University School of Medicine and a B.A. in biology from Barnard College.
Natalie Sacks, M.D.
Natalie is an oncologist and experienced drug developer and is the Chief Medical Officer at Harpoon Therapeutics. Prior to joining Harpoon, Natalie held various development leadership roles at multiple companies including at Onyx Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Amgen), Aduro, Exelixis, and Cell Genesys. She has been responsible for all aspects of development including the late-stage development of oncology therapeutics Kyprolis® and Cometriq™. Natalie held a faculty appointment at the University of California, San Francisco for more than ten years, where she was a volunteer assistant clinical professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. She received her B.A. in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College, her M.S. in Biostatistics from Harvard University School of Public Health, and her M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Nancy Whiting, Pharm.D.
Nancy is the Chief Executive Officer at Recludix Pharma and has an established track record in all phases of drug development. She is a 15-year veteran of Seagen (formerly Seattle Genetics) and most recently served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy. Nancy previously served as Executive Vice President of Late-Stage Development, Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, and Head of Experimental Medicine at Seagen. During her tenure at Seagen, she played a central role in the development of ADCETRIS®, PADCEV®, TUKYSA®, and TIVDAK®, in addition to several other pipeline compounds. Prior to her tenure in the biopharmaceutical industry, she had a career in clinical pharmacy serving as a Clinical Oncology Pharmacist at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, and previously as the Staff Pharmacist for the Bone Marrow Transplant and Acute Leukemia department at Vancouver Hospital. Nancy received her Pharm.D. degree from the University of Washington and a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of British Columbia.
Ran Zheng
Ran currently serves as chief executive officer and on the board of directors of Landmark Bio, a public benefit limited liability company that was formed to advance the development of transformative new medicines by translating today’s cutting-edge research into tomorrow’s breakthrough therapies. Landmark Bio focuses on the emerging technologies of cell and gene therapies, mRNA, and other novel modalities to enable and accelerate drug development and biomedical innovation. Prior to joining Landmark Bio earlier this year, Ms. Zheng most recently served as chief technical officer at Orchard Therapeutics, a commercial-stage global gene therapy company specializing in hematopoietic stem cell-based gene therapies. In that role, Ms. Zheng led the technical operations organization and helped advance the company’s product pipeline, including contributing to the approval of Libmeldy® therapy in Europe, the first gene therapy product for metachromatic leukodystrophy. Ms. Zheng has also held leadership positions at multiple biotechnology companies including Genzyme (now Sanofi) and Amgen. At Amgen, Ms. Zheng held positions of increasing responsibility in process development, clinical and commercial manufacturing, as well as supply chain, and played a key role in building differentiated capabilities in manufacturing for clinical supply and commercial product launch to enable speed to clinic and speed to market strategies for Amgen’s innovative products. Ms. Zheng received an M.S. in microbial engineering from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in biology from Beijing Forestry University.
Scientific Advisory Board
Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D.
Jennifer Doudna is a co-founder of Caribou Biosciences. She is a professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley where she is the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences; the President of the Innovative Genomics Institute; and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; a Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institutes; a Faculty Scientist in the Physical Biosciences Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; and a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her research seeks to understand how non-coding RNA molecules control the expression of genetic information and she has published extensively in the field of CRISPR-Cas biology. Jennifer’s work and that of her collaborator Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier was recognized by the award of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 as well as a 2015 Breakthrough Prize. Her work on CRISPR-Cas systems has also been recognized with the Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research, a Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences, and the Princess of Asturias award. Jennifer was also named to the 2015 TIME Magazine’s TIME 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. After serving as a member of the Yale University faculty for eight years, during which time she was promoted to Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, she joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 2002. Jennifer earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Harvard University and was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Martin Jinek, Ph.D.
Martin Jinek is a co-founder of Caribou Biosciences and an Assistant Professor at the University of Zurich in the Department of Biochemistry. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms that orchestrate cellular regulation through protein-RNA interactions. His studies include biochemical and structural approaches to investigate these processes at the atomic level. Martin has contributed significantly to the field of CRISPR biology both through basic discovery and through the invention of new CRISPR-based technologies. He has won both the Human Frontier Science Program Fellowship and the EMBO Long-term Fellowship. Martin received an M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in Structural Biology from the University of Heidelberg. He was a postdoctoral associate in the lab of Jennifer Doudna at the University of California, Berkeley.
Ami Bhatt, M.D., Ph.D.
Ami Bhatt is Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology) and of Genetics at Stanford University where her research focuses on inspecting, characterizing, and dissecting the microbe-human interface. Dr. Bhatt is also the Director of Global Oncology at the Center for Innovation in Global Health at Stanford and the co-founder of the non-profit organization Global Oncology, which has the goal of improving cancer outcomes for patients in impoverished settings. Ami earned her M.D. in Medicine and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of California, San Francisco and completed her residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Ami completed her post-doctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and completed her hematology/oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Noopur Raje, M.D.
Noopur Raje is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the director of the Center for Multiple Myeloma, and the Rita Kelley Chair in Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. She is a physician scientist with a primary focus on multiple myeloma and related plasma cell disorders. Noopur has focused on developing new promising therapies for multiple myeloma. Her laboratory efforts are aimed at identifying cellular signaling pathways that contribute to the survival and proliferation of myeloma cells in the bone environment and designing trials to specifically harness these. She is the co-chair of the NCI steering committee for multiple myeloma and a board member of the International Myeloma Society. Noopur received her M.D. from B.J. Medical College at Pune University. She trained in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and completed a fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Jeffrey Rathmell, Ph.D.
Jeffrey Rathmell is Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology and serves as the Associate Director of the Institute of Infection, Immunology, and Inflammation at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he is also the co-leader of the Molecular Pathology and Immunology Ph.D. training program. His studies focus on manipulating mechanisms to control inflammatory diseases and anti-tumor immune responses and to understand how metabolism is intimately linked to nearly all aspects of cell function. Prior to joining the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Jeff was a member of the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute and was involved with the departments of Pharmacology, Cancer Biology, and Immunology. He earned a Ph.D. in Immunology on B cell tolerance and death mechanisms at Stanford University. Dr. Rathmell completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania.
Katy Rezvani, M.D., Ph.D.
Katy Rezvani is the Sally Cooper Murray Chair in Cancer Research, Professor of Medicine, Chief of Section for Cellular Therapy, Director of Translational Research, and Director of the GMP Facility at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She also serves as Executive Director of MD Anderson’s Adoptive Cell Therapy Platform. Her research laboratory focuses on the role of natural killer (NK) cells in mediating immunity against hematologic and solid tumors. The goal of this research is to understand mechanisms of tumor-induced NK cell dysfunction and to develop strategies to genetically engineer NK cells to enhance their in vivo anti-tumor activity and persistence. Findings from Katy’s lab have led to the approval and funding of several investigator-initiated clinical trials of NK cell immunotherapy in patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, as well as the first-in-human clinical trial of off-the-shelf CAR-transduced cord blood NK cells in patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoid malignancies. Katy completed her medical training at University College London, followed by Fellowships of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists of the United Kingdom, a Ph.D. in Immunology from Imperial College London, and postdoctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health.
Christopher Sturgeon, Ph.D.
Christopher Sturgeon is an Associate Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His studies focus on characterizing the signal pathways that control human pluripotent stem cell differentiation towards hematopoietic stem/progenitors and how this impacts natural killer (NK) cell development and function. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, Chris was a member of the Washington University School of Medicine Hematology Division. He earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry on cell cycle regulation at the University of British Columbia. Chris completed postdoctoral studies at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Toronto where he studied pluripotent stem cell-derived hematopoiesis.
Cameron Turtle, M.B.B.S., Ph.D.
Cameron Turtle is an Associate Member at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and an Associate Professor at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, WA. He serves as an attending physician on the Hematopoietic Cell Transplant (HCT) Service and the Immunotherapy Service at FHCRC, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), and the UW Medical Center. His research laboratory in the Clinical Research Division at FHCRC is focused on understanding the characteristics of distinct subsets of human CD8+ T cells, their potential utility for tumor immunotherapy, and their role in immune reconstitution after HCT. Cameron is Principal Investigator and IND sponsor of several investigator-initiated clinical trials of CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cell therapy for patients with B cell malignancies. He completed medical training at the University of Sydney, Australia, followed by Fellowships of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, and a Ph.D. in Immunology.
Collaborations
We are committed to fostering strong partnerships to develop and advance genome-edited therapies. If you are interested in partnering with Caribou, please contact our team.
AbbVie
In February 2021, Caribou and AbbVie entered into a collaboration and license agreement for the research and development of CAR-T cell products. Under the multi-year agreement, AbbVie will use Caribou’s next-generation Cas12a CRISPR hybrid RNA-DNA (chRDNA) genome editing and cell therapy technologies to research and develop two new CAR-T cell therapies directed to targets specified by AbbVie. AbbVie will have exclusive rights to Caribou’s next-generation Cas12a chRDNA genome editing and cell therapy technologies for the selected targets. Caribou will conduct certain pre-clinical research, development, and manufacturing activities for the collaboration programs, and AbbVie will reimburse Caribou for all such activities pursuant to the collaboration. AbbVie is responsible for all clinical development, commercialization, and manufacturing efforts. AbbVie has the option to pay a fee to expand the collaboration to include up to an additional two CAR-T cell therapies. View Press Release.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
In March 2021, Caribou announced a $115M Series C financing. As a part of the capital raise, Caribou received a strategic investment from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Therapy Acceleration Program® (LLS TAP) directed toward advancing CB-010, the company’s allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy product candidate for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. LLS is a global leader in the fight against cancer with a mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS TAP is a strategic initiative that builds business alliances and collaborations with biotechnology companies and academic researchers to identify potential breakthrough therapies with the ability to improve the standard of care. LLS TAP funds late-stage pre-clinical studies and proof of concept or registrational clinical trials to help advance therapeutics along the drug development and approval pathway. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org/therapy-acceleration-program.
Licenses
Caribou has an extensive CRISPR technology IP portfolio, including an exclusive license from The Regents of the University of California and the University of Vienna to the foundational CRISPR-Cas9 IP invented by Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier, and their colleagues. Caribou licenses this CRISPR-Cas9 IP and certain of its own Cas9 IP to other companies for use in multiple market sectors including but not limited to research tools, transgenic research animals, internal research, diagnostics, and industrial biotechnology. For information regarding licensing, click here.
Caribou has entered into licenses with recognized leaders in many market sectors. Such licenses include:
Corteva Agriscience™
Caribou and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (now a member of the Corteva Agriscience™ group of companies, “Corteva”), announced a license agreement and multi-year collaboration in 2015, including the cross-licensing of key intellectual property. Both Corteva and Caribou control patent portfolios covering multiple foundational CRISPR technologies. The cross-license enables Caribou to develop and utilize CRISPR-Cas technology for product development in a variety of fields including therapeutics, industrial biotechnology, research tools, and certain agriculture segments. The Corteva license to Caribou includes rights to the Cas9-mediated genome editing intellectual property owned by Vilnius University and exclusively licensed to Corteva and other CRISPR intellectual property owned by the Nutrition and Biosciences division of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. Caribou is eligible to receive milestone payments for products commercialized by Corteva in certain fields. View Press Release.
Danisco US Inc.
In 2020, Caribou and Danisco US Inc. entered into a non-exclusive license wherein Caribou granted Danisco rights under certain CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property controlled by Caribou for Danisco’s COVID project, which is a research and development program related to rapid, large scale production of potential antibody therapies for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Genus plc
In 2016, Caribou entered a multi-year strategic research collaboration and license agreement with Genus plc. Under this license, Caribou granted Genus an exclusive license to Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 technology for the development of new traits in pigs, cattle, and potentially other livestock species. At the end of the four-year research collaboration, Genus selected a specified number of licensed products to which the license agreement is now limited. One of the licensed products is Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSv) resistant pigs and another is cattle resistant to Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD). Caribou is eligible to receive regulatory and commercial milestone payments from Genus as well as royalties on licensed product sales. The license positions Genus at the forefront of an emerging market for which CRISPR-Cas9 could have profound benefits to animal well-being and health. View Press Release.
Helmholtz Zentrum München
In May 2019, Caribou granted Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH) a non-exclusive, worldwide license to use Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing technology to create genetically engineered mouse models for research purposes, including activities of the European Mouse Mutant Archive and the INFRAFRONTIER Research Infrastructure. The license enables Helmholtz Zentrum München and certain designated partners to deliver custom-generated mouse models for cutting-edge research under a limited use label license and will enable Helmholtz Zentrum München to pursue its goals of developing personalized medical approaches for the prevention and therapy of major common diseases such as diabetes mellitus, allergies, and lung diseases. Caribou receives royalties on sales of licensed products and is eligible for sales milestones.
Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc.
Caribou and Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc. (IDT), a producer of custom synthetic oligonucleotide-based technologies for genomics applications, entered into a non-exclusive license agreement in 2016 under which Caribou has granted IDT worldwide rights under Caribou’s intellectual property to commercialize CRISPR-Cas9 reagents. The reagents are sold by IDT subject to a research use limited label license, and Caribou receives royalties on reagents sold by IDT. IDT’s CRISPR-Cas9 reagents are used by customers conducting biological research across a broad range of scientific areas such as drug discovery, plant biology, and genomics and provide researchers with the ability to edit genomic DNA precisely and efficiently. View Press Release.
Intellia Therapeutics, Inc.
In 2014, Caribou co-founded Intellia Therapeutics to develop curative medicines utilizing Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Intellia has exclusive access to Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 technology for the development of new human gene and cell therapies as well as anti-viral therapies. Caribou has access to intellectual property developed by Intellia for areas outside of Intellia’s field. Intellia is developing both ex vivo and in vivo applications of Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology. Near-term ex vivo applications include the treatment of blood disorders and cancer. Caribou retains full rights to pursue opportunities for its technology platform in other valuable therapeutic markets, including antimicrobials and animal health. Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. is a publicly traded company, trading on NASDAQ under the symbol “NTLA.” View Press Release.
The Jackson Laboratory
Caribou has granted The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) non-exclusive, worldwide rights to use Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property to create genetically engineered mice and rats for research purposes. Caribou’s market-leading CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology can accurately target and cut DNA to produce precise and controllable changes to the genome, which can be applied by JAX to create mouse and rat models that better recapitulate human diseases enabling researchers to find better treatments faster. The license allows JAX to deliver custom-built mouse and rat models sold under a research use limited label license, creating the next generation of predictive models for the new era of personalized medicine. In 2019, Caribou granted JAX a non-exclusive license to use Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property to generate modified human and mouse cell lines and cell lines (e.g., induced pluripotent stem cells, embryonic stem cells, cancer cell lines, primary cells, etc.) for research services for end-user purchasers under a research use limited label license. Under both license agreements, Caribou receives royalties on sales of licensed products and services and is eligible for certain sales milestones. View Press Release.
Medical Research Council
In March 2019, Caribou granted the Medical Research Council (MRC), as part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-exclusive, worldwide license to use Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property to create genetically engineered mice for research purposes. The license allows the MRC to deliver custom-designed mouse models sold under a limited use label license for research purposes. Caribou receives royalties on sales of licensed products and is eligible for a sales milestone.
Novartis
Caribou granted Novartis an option for a non-exclusive, worldwide license for internal research under Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 technology in 2014 as part of a one-year research program to develop the Caribou CRISPR-Cas9 platform for drug target screening and validation technologies, and Novartis exercised its option for an internal research license in 2016. Caribou receives maintenance payments for the license to Novartis. The advancement of the Cas9-based platform for screening and validation will help further the development of new therapeutic products, and Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 technology can utilize guide RNAs specific for unique sequences and target a gene at numerous sites and therefore provide enhanced specificity. View Press Release.
Novome Biotechnologies, Inc.
In 2020, Caribou and Novome Biotechnologies, Inc., a biotechnology company engineering first-in-class, living medicines for chronic diseases, entered into an assignment agreement and a non-exclusive license agreement. Under the assignment agreement, Novome acquired certain microbial intellectual property from Caribou related to undisclosed therapeutic areas. Under the license agreement, Novome non-exclusively licensed foundational CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property controlled by Caribou for genetic modification of bacterial species for administration of such bacterial species as a therapeutic, prophylactic, or palliative for diseases and conditions in humans. Terms of the agreements have not been disclosed.
Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd
Caribou and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd (ONT), a UK-based company, entered into a non-exclusive license agreement in August 2019, under which Caribou has granted ONT worldwide rights to use CRISPR-Cas9 for nanopore sequencing and nanopore detection for research and diagnostics applications. ONT aims to disrupt the paradigm of biological analysis by making high performance, DNA/RNA sequencing technology that is accessible and easy to use. The license also includes the right for ONT to commercialize CRISPR-Cas9 nanopore sequencing and detection products and services. These products and services are sold by ONT subject to a research use limited label license, and Caribou receives royalties on sales and is eligible for certain sales milestones.
Regional Fish Institute
In 2021, Caribou and Regional Fish Institute, Ltd (RFI) entered into a non-exclusive license agreement under which Caribou has granted RFI rights in Asia Pacific under Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property to genome edit non-mammalian marine animals for agricultural purposes. RFI tackles the challenge of decreased sources of protein using genome editing to speed up breeding processes for aqua products. Caribou is eligible to receive royalties on the sales of licensed products and the provision of licensed services.
RenOVAte Biosciences
Caribou and RenOVAte Biosciences, Inc., a Maryland-based animal biotechnology company, entered into a non-exclusive license agreement in January 2019, under which Caribou has granted RenOVAte worldwide rights under certain intellectual property to use CRISPR-Cas9 to genome edit cattle, sheep, and pigs for research purposes and services. RenOVAte is in the business of performing sophisticated precision genome editing and genetic engineering in livestock species to address critical priorities of human and animal health. The license also includes the right for RenOVAte to conduct internal genome editing research. The products and services will be provided by RenOVAte subject to a limited use label license for research use only, and Caribou will receive royalties on such products and services.
Takara
Caribou and Takara Bio USA, Inc., a manufacturer and distributer of kits, reagents, and instruments for the life sciences, entered into a non-exclusive license agreement in 2020 wherein Caribou granted Takara worldwide rights under certain CRISPR-Cas9 intellectual property controlled by Caribou for Takara to sell research reagents and cell lines and, in Japan, genetically modified rats and mice subject to a limited use label license for research purposes only. Caribou received an upfront payment and royalties on such products sold by Takara.
TreeCo
In 2021, Caribou granted exclusive, worldwide licenses to TreeCo Inc. to use Caribou’s CRISPR-Cas9, Cas9 chRDNA, and Cas12a chRDNA intellectual property to genetically modify wood-forming domesticated and wild trees for timber, chemicals, fiber, sustainability, and ornamentals. TreeCo is a North Carolina-based company combining insights from tree genetics with the power of genome editing. Caribou is a shareholder in TreeCo, and Caribou is eligible for maintenance fees, sales milestones, and royalties on product sales.
