Benzinga | Jul 2, 2021 01:19PM EDT

Caribou Biosciences Eyes $100M NASDAQ Debut To Propel Off-The-Shelf CAR-T Therapies In Blood Cancer

* In a filing with SEC on Thursday, Caribou Biosciences (NASDAQ:CRBU) is penciling in a $100 million initial public offering.

* The firm expects that its new shares will trade on the NASDAQ under the symbol "CRBU" once the IPO closes.

* BofA Securities, Citigroup, and SVB Leerink are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.

* The funds will give a boost to the company's three off-the-shelf CAR-T therapies, the most advanced of which is an anti-CD19 candidate (CB-010) in Phase 1 for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

* Some of the IPO proceeds will go to IND-enabling activities for Caribou's other two candidates, CB-011 and CB-012.

* The former targets BCMA to treat relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. That candidate is expected to hit the clinic in 2022.

* CB-012, a CAR-T targeting CD371 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. The company hopes to start human trials in 2023.

* Though Caribou's CAR-T programs all target blood cancer, the company is working on allogeneic NK cell therapies based on induced pluripotent stem cells for solid tumors.

* Some of the IPO proceeds will support R&D in this area and develop the CRISPR technology it uses to make its cell therapies.

* In March, Caribou Biosciences secured a $115 million Series C round.