CARGO offloads staff after abandoning lead CAR-T

Less than 18 months after listing on the Nasdaq, CAR-T therapy developer CARGO Therapeutics has abandoned its development efforts and slashed around 90% of its workforce.

The move has come just a few weeks after CARGO's plans were thrown into disarray when safety concerns scuppered a mid-stage trial of its lead CAR-T firicabtagene autoleucel (CRG-022), causing the programme to be dropped from development.

The CD22-directed CAR-T, which was being tested in the FIRCE-1 study as a treatment for patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), was halted in January, with CARGO saying it would shift its attention to follow-up therapy CRG-023, which targets CD19, CD20, and CD22, and was recently cleared by the FDA to start clinical testing.

Now, the San Mateo, California-based biotech – which licenses its CAR-T platform from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US – has said it will suspend all ongoing pipeline development efforts and retain just a skeleton crew of staffers as it "explores strategic alternatives."

One thing in CARGO's favour is that it remains relatively cash-rich, ending last year with around $368 million on hand – amassed through a $200 million Series A and its $281 million IPO in 2023 – and the company has indicated that its strategic review could include "a reverse merger or other business combination."

President and chief executive Gina Chapman is among those who will depart the company and is due to end her tenure on 19th May. She will be replaced on an interim basis by chief financial and operating officer Anup Radhakrishnan, who will be responsible for cutting staff and closing operations at an estimated cost of between $24 million and $29 million.

The cull also includes chief medical officer Ginna Laport, who is also due to step down on 19th May.

"The board has concluded that it is in the best interests of shareholders to cease development operations," said CARGO's chairman, John Orwin, in a statement.

"We are grateful for the contributions of those who will be leaving CARGO as a result of the decision to discontinue development of our remaining pipeline assets," he added.

"Our priority moving forward is to maximise value for shareholders while aiming to find a permanent home for our remaining assets for the benefit of patients, and to do both in an expeditious manner."

Shares in CARGO rose 9% to $4.15 after the announcement, a fraction of its 52-week high of almost $33, valuing the company at just over $191 million.

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay