NEW YORK – Cargo Therapeutics this week said it is suspending development of its CD19/CD20/CD21 tri-specific autologous CAR T-cell therapy CRG-023 in B-cell malignancies and reducing its workforce by 90 percent.
The San Carlos, California-based company is also shuttering its allogeneic cell therapy platform and has appointed a new interim CEO, Anup Radhakrishnan, to lead the company through a reverse merger or another type of business combination.
In January, Cargo discontinued the Phase II FIRCE-1 trial of firicabtagene autoleucel (firi-cel) in patients with large B-cell lymphoma who have relapsed or are refractory to CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy. At the time, the firm also reduced its workforce by about 50 percent to extend its cash runway and prioritize advancement of CRG-023 to a Phase I proof-of-concept study. As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company had 167 full-time employees.
Cargo decided to discontinue the FIRCE-1 trial after an ad hoc analysis prompted by safety events failed to show a competitive benefit-risk profile for firi-cel in the intended patient population. The overall response rate was 77 percent among 51 evaluable patients, and the complete response rate was 43 percent. However, 18 percent of patients developed grade 3 or higher immune effector cell-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis-like syndrome.
After this, the company had hoped to focus on CRG-023, which targets three separate B-cell lineage antigens, CD19, CD20, and CD22, using three chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) with distinct costimulatory domains. In preclinical studies, CRG-023 showed durable anti-tumor activity in vitro and superior tumor control compared with benchmark CARs.
But the company's board of directors has now decided against developing CRG-023. "In connection with the company's review of strategic options, the board has concluded that it is in the best interests of shareholders to cease development operations," John Orwin, chairman of Cargo's board, said in a statement. "Our priority moving forward is to maximize value for shareholders while aiming to find a permanent home for our remaining assets."