We’ve seen biotech stocks all poised to take on cancer. Some offer some promising potential. Others are faltering. But Carisma Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARM) may have one of the best shots yet. It’s posted a double-digit gain in Wednesday afternoon trading, and it’s all thanks to a whole new way of fighting cancer.
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Carisma Therapeutics is enjoying massive new gains thanks to an upgrade at Jefferies, which came from analyst Kambiz Yazdi, who cited the leading drug candidate at Carisma, known as CT-0508. CT-0508 is a unique proposition in the field as it represents, as Yazdi describes, “…the first-ever CAR-macrophage to enter human clinic.” A CAR-macrophage, Yazdi continued, is a substance that may be able to effectively tackle solid tumors. That represents a whole new attack vector against cancer, including many other approaches that try to work on the cellular level.
A Phase 1 trial is set for later this year, and the strong potential of CT-0508 to work alongside a set of anti-PD1 drugs is also drawing attention. Further, Carisma also has several arrangements with Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) that could mean up to $3 billion in payments for reaching certain development milestones. Plus, Carisma is set to make appearances at several healthcare industry conferences in June, including the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. That should help to shore up Carisma’s reputation as well.
Meanwhile, Although CARM insiders have an overall neutral view on the stock, they have still been seen buying in heavily. Indeed, just in the last quarter, insiders bought $186,900 worth of shares.
