Caribou Biosciences Announces Appointment of Sundar Jagannath, MD, to its Scientific Advisory Board

-- Dr. Jagannath is a renowned expert in the research and treatment of multiple myeloma --

BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Caribou Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRBU), a leading clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company, today announced the appointment of Sundar Jagannath, MD, to its scientific advisory board. With four decades of experience, Dr. Jagannath is a renowned expert in bone marrow transplantation and treating patients with multiple myeloma, and he is the director of the Center of Excellence for Multiple Myeloma at The Tisch Cancer Institute and professor of medicine, hematology and medical oncology, at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York.

“We are honored to have Dr. Jagannath join our scientific advisory board. Dr. Jagannath is a distinguished oncologist who is renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to the field of multiple myeloma,” said Syed Rizvi, MD, Caribou’s chief medical officer. “Dr. Jagannath has a stellar reputation as a compassionate physician and researcher, whose guidance will be invaluable to Caribou as we advance the CaMMouflage Phase 1 trial for CB-011, our allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy, for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.”

With a medical career spanning over 40 years, Dr. Jagannath is a distinguished leader in multiple myeloma and bone marrow transplantation. His clinical and translational research has resulted in more than 180 peer reviewed articles, 150 abstracts, and 30 book chapters. After earning his medical degree and training, Dr. Jagannath completed a medical oncology fellowship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Prior to Mount Sinai, New York, he also served at University of Arkansas and Saint Vincent’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York, in leadership roles in the myeloma programs.

“Caribou’s differentiated approach in using chRDNA genome-editing technology to armor CAR-T cell therapies for improved antitumor activity is very promising,” said Dr. Jagannath. “I look forward to advising on the development of CB-011 as off-the-shelf and readily available treatment in multiple myeloma. We urgently need such treatment options for patients living with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.”

About CB-011
CB-011 is a product candidate from Caribou’s allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy platform and is being evaluated in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (r/r MM) in the CaMMouflage Phase 1 trial. CB-011 is an allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy engineered using Cas12a chRDNA genome-editing technology. To Caribou’s knowledge, CB-011 is the first allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in the clinic that is engineered to improve antitumor activity through an immune cloaking strategy with a B2M knockout and insertion of a B2M–HLA-E fusion protein to blunt immune-mediated rejection. CB-011 has been granted Fast Track designation by the FDA. Additional information on the CaMMouflage trial (NCT05722418) can be found at clinicaltrials.gov.