Carisma Therapeutics

Carisma Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative immunotherapies using its proprietary macrophage and monocyte cell engineering platform. The company's primary focus is on creating cell therapies to treat solid tumors and other serious diseases. Carisma's lead product candidate is CT-0525, a chimeric antigen receptor-monocyte (CAR-Monocyte) therapy targeting HER2-overexpressing solid tumors. This therapy is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial. CT-0525 is designed to address challenges in treating solid tumors with cell therapies, including tumor infiltration and immunosuppression within the tumor microenvironment. The company believes that CT-0525 has the potential for increased anti-tumor activity compared to its previous CAR-Macrophage therapy, CT-0508.

In addition to its oncology pipeline, Carisma is exploring the use of engineered macrophages in treating fibrotic diseases. The company presented preclinical proof-of-concept data for its engineered macrophages in liver fibrosis at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy 2024 Annual Meeting. Carisma expects to nominate a development candidate for its liver fibrosis program in the first quarter of 2025.

Carisma Therapeutics was formed through a merger with Sesen Bio in March 2023. The company is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of March 31, 2024, Carisma reported cash and cash equivalents of USD 56.5 million, which it expects will fund operations into the third quarter of 2025.

Key customers and partnerships

Carisma Therapeutics has established strategic partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies to advance its cell therapy platform. In January 2022, Moderna entered into a research collaboration with Carisma, paying USD 45 million to start the partnership. Additionally, Carisma has collaborated with Merck & Co., with a trial expected to test Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda alongside Carisma's HER2-targeting treatment.

In March 2022, Carisma announced a manufacturing agreement with Novartis, wherein Novartis would produce Carisma's HER2-targeted CAR-Macrophage cell therapy at its Morris Plains, New Jersey facility. This partnership demonstrates Novartis' entry into the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) space for cell therapies.