Carisma Therapeutics develops chimeric antigen receptor macrophages (CAR-Macrophages) to target solid tumors by engineering a patient's own immune cells to enhance tumor infiltration and activate anti-tumor immunity. This approach addresses the challenges of immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments and antigen heterogeneity, offering a potential long-term treatment strategy for cancer patients.
Funding
$30M raised to dateRaised to date based on public sources. This may differ from the amount the company actually raised and is based only on what is publicly available on the internet.
Founders
Product
Problem
Solid tumors create immunosuppressive microenvironments that block the infiltration of T and NK cells, shutting down immune responses. Significant cell-to-cell heterogeneity within a tumor mass allows for the development of resistance to single-antigen targeted therapies. Current cell therapies struggle to effectively target and eliminate solid tumors due to these challenges.
Solution
Carisma Therapeutics develops chimeric antigen receptor macrophages (CAR-Macrophages) to overcome the limitations of existing cancer therapies. This approach engineers a patient’s own monocytes and macrophages to target solid tumors, enhancing tumor infiltration and activating both innate and adaptive anti-tumor immunity. CAR-Macrophages are designed to be actively recruited into tumors and locked into an anti-tumor phenotype, driving T cell recruitment and immune activation within the tumor microenvironment. By leveraging macrophages as professional antigen-presenting cells, the therapy can activate the patient’s adaptive immune system against multiple tumor-specific antigens, addressing antigen heterogeneity. This multi-pronged attack on tumors offers a potential long-term treatment strategy for cancer patients.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes patients with solid tumors and their families, as well as healthcare providers specializing in oncology and immunotherapy.
Features
- Engineered CAR-Macrophages designed to target solid tumors.
- Enhanced tumor infiltration via macrophage recruitment along chemokine gradients.
- Activation of both innate and adaptive immune responses within the tumor microenvironment.
- Macrophages locked into an anti-tumor (M1) phenotype to drive T cell recruitment.
- Professional antigen-presenting cell capabilities to target multiple tumor-specific antigens.
- Potential for long-term anti-tumor immunity.