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Gene editing biotech Caribou Biosciences ups share offering by 26% ahead of $255 million IPO

July 22, 2021
CRBU

Caribou Biosciences, a Phase 1 biotech developing gene edited cell therapies for multiple cancers, raised the proposed deal size for its upcoming IPO on Thursday.

The Berkeley, CA-based company now plans to raise $255 million by offering 17 million shares at a price range of $14 to $16. The company had previously filed to offer 13.5 million shares at the same range. At the revised deal size, Caribou Biosciences will raise 26% more in proceeds than previously anticipated.

Caribou Biosciences is using its novel CRISPR platform, CRISPR hybrid RNA-DNA, or chRDNA (pronounced "chardonnay"), to develop genome-edited allogenic cell therapies. The company is initially targeting cell therapies for the treatment of cancers with cell surface targets for which autologous CAR-T cell therapeutics have previously shown proof of concept, including CD19, BCMA, and new targets. Caribou's lead program, CB-010, is a CAR-T cell therapy with PD-1 removed from the cell surface. CB-010 is currently in a Phase 1 trial for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and is expected to report initial data in 2022.

Caribou Biosciences was founded in 2011 and booked $12 million in revenue for the 12 months ended March 31, 2021. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol CRBU. BofA Securities, Citi, and SVB Leerink are the joint bookrunners on the deal. It is expected to price during the week of July 19, 2021.