Is SESN Stock a buy?

SESN was the ticker symbol for Sesen Bio, a Cambridge, Mass, biotech company which in March of this year merged with Carisma Therapeutics (Carisma Therapeutics Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials NASDAQ:CARM). 

Sesen was focused on advancing targeted fusion protein therapies for cancer treatment, with product candidate Vicineum, a locally-administered targeted fusion protein for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. In July, 2022, Sesen paused its clinical program on Vicineum, where its Biologics License Application (BLA) had preliminary Phase 3 findings showing a positive benefit-to-risk profile. Sesen had said the decision was based on a thorough reassessment of the program following discussions with the US FDA. 

“This decision enables Sesen Bio to conserve cash while it continues to assess potential strategic alternatives with the goal of maximizing shareholder value. Additionally, the Company intends to seek a partner for the further development of Vicineum,” the company said in a July 18, 2022, press release.

On March 7 of this year, the Carisma merger was completed, with the latter name becoming the combined company name. Carisma Therapeutics is a biopharm company focuses on immunotherapy treatments for cancer, with its first applications of its proprietary cell therapy platform, developed in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, being autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-macrophages for the treatment of solid tumours.

“This merger represents a very exciting opportunity for stockholders of each company, and we believe it gets us one step closer to our goal of revolutionizing the field of immunotherapy,” said Steven Kelly, President and CEOof Carisma, in a statement. 

“It will provide us with the financial strength to not only continue to develop our lead candidate CT-0508 but also accelerate the growth of our platform and pipeline within and outside of oncology and continue to develop additional strong strategic partnerships.”

On the merger, Dr. Thomas Cannell, President and CEOof Sesen had said in the same press release, “Patients, caregivers and investigators around the world have been important advocates of Sesen Bio and I want to thank them for their support. I am confident in the potential of Carisma’s promising technology and through the combined company, we can continue to advance our shared mission of saving and improving the lives of patients with cancer. I know the future of Carisma is bright and I am optimistic for their continued success.”

CARM spiked in 2021 but has fallen back over the intervening months. The stock currently trades in the $3-$6 range.