Carisma Therapeutics to Lay Off Staff, Discontinue CAR-M Programs in Pursuit of Second Candidate

1. Carisma Therapeutics announced on April 1st, 2024, that it will lay off staff and drop its clinical CAR-M programs.
2. The biotech plans to reduce its workforce by 37%, which equates to laying off 39 employees out of the total 107 full-time employees as of the end of 2023.
3. Two cell therapy candidates—anti-HER2 CAR-macrophage program CT-0508 and anti-mesothelin CAR-monocyte candidate CT-1119—will be put on hold.
4. In an early clinical trial with 14 patients who received CT-0508, the best response was stable disease, reported by Carisma in September.
5. The company's decision comes amid strategic changes aimed at focusing resources on a second candidate.