Carisma Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARM) experienced significant movement in afterhours trading on Thursday, surging by nearly 60% after an already impressive 5% gain during the regular session. The sharp rise was driven by the announcement of a major milestone in its collaboration with Moderna, Inc.
Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment Development
Carisma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced the nomination of its first in vivo CAR-M development candidate targeting Glypican-3 (GPC3) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), under its partnership with Moderna. This nomination triggered a $2 million milestone payment to Carisma. The candidate leverages Carisma’s expertise in engineering chimeric antigen receptor monocytes and macrophages (CAR-M) and Moderna’s mRNA and lipid nanoparticle platform, aiming to create a novel in vivo cell therapy for oncology. Pre-clinical data has shown that this candidate can effectively create CAR-M directly in vivo, enabling the body’s myeloid cells to target and destroy cancer cells.
“The nomination of the first Development Candidate underscores our productive collaboration with Moderna to develop mRNA-based in vivo CAR-M cell therapies,” said Michael Klichinsky, PharmD, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Carisma. “This milestone represents a significant step forward in the development of immunotherapies for solid tumors.”
Mixed Market Reactions towards Carisma
The market reaction was swift and positive, with social media abuzz about the potential implications of this development. However, opinions remain divided. While some investors are enthusiastic about the collaboration’s progress and the triggered milestone payment, others are more cautious. They note that this is just the nomination of a development candidate, a molecule that has shown promise but requires extensive further testing. The process of obtaining an Investigational New Drug (IND) approval and progressing through clinical trials is lengthy and costly, with a high failure rate.
Lin Guey, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Therapeutics Research Ventures and Biotherapeutics at Moderna, stated, “We are thrilled with the significant progress we’ve made in advancing in vivo CAR-M therapies alongside Carisma. We eagerly anticipate further development of the nominated candidate for patients with solid tumors.”
Conclusion
The excitement surrounding Carisma Therapeutics’ afterhours surge highlights the market’s optimism about innovative cancer treatments. However, the path to bringing these therapies to market remains challenging. Investors should weigh the potential against the substantial risks inherent in biopharmaceutical development. As Carisma and Moderna continue their collaboration, the coming months will be crucial in determining the viability and success of this promising therapy.
