Carisma Therapeutics Inc. (CARM) has unveiled encouraging preclinical data regarding its engineered macrophages aimed at addressing liver fibrosis, shared at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). These findings highlight the preclinical effectiveness of Carisma's engineered macrophages across various liver fibrosis models. This paves the way for a unique, readily available treatment avenue for patients grappling with fibrotic liver ailments, including advanced metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Liver fibrosis serves as a crucial late-stage pathway in numerous liver disorders, encompassing MASH, acute liver injury, primary sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cholangitis, among others.
The company further highlighted that the new preclinical outcomes indicate the potential to genetically modify macrophages to directly target essential pathways involved in liver disease. These pathways include factors like TIM4 (which enhances efferocytosis), relaxin (which impedes the activation of hepatic stellate cells), and IL10 (which alleviates inflammation). Remarkably, a single administration of macrophages expressing TIM4, whether on its own or combined with relaxin, substantially diminished liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell activation in the translationally pertinent choline-deficient, L-amino acid-defined, high-fat diet (CDAHFD) MASH model. The performance of these engineered macrophages surpassed that of non-engineered cells in all tested models, and they were well-tolerated.
With these promising results, Carisma is dedicated to advancing its liver fibrosis program. The company aims to designate a development candidate for its liver fibrosis initiative by the first quarter of 2025.