Business Description

Our Corporate History and Background The Company (formerly known as Selecta Biosciences, Inc., or Selecta) was incorporated in Delaware on December 10, 2007, and is headquartered in Frederick, Maryland. On November 13, 2023, the Company and the Delaware corporation which, immediately prior to the Merger (as defined below), was known as Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc., or Old Cartesian, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, or the Merger Agreement, by and among the Company, Sakura Merger Sub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, or First Merger Sub, Sakura Merger Sub II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, or Second Merger Sub, and Old Cartesian. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, and simultaneously with execution thereof, (i) First Merger Sub merged with and into Old Cartesian, pursuant to which Old Cartesian was the surviving corporation, or the First Step Surviving Corporation, and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, or the First Merger, and (ii) immediately following the First Merger, Old Cartesian (as the First Step Surviving Corporation) merged with and into Second Merger Sub, pursuant to which Second Merger Sub was the surviving company, or the Surviving Company, and continued under the name “Cartesian Bio, LLC”, or the Second Merger and, together with the First Merger, the Merger. In connection with the Merger and pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the Company (which was known as Selecta Biosciences, Inc. until immediately prior to the Merger) changed its corporate name to Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. Overview We are a late clinical-stage biotechnology company pioneering cell therapy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. We leverage our proprietary technology and manufacturing platform to introduce mRNA into cells to provide a therapeutic effect to patients suffering from a variety of autoimmune conditions. Unlike DNA, mRNA degrades naturally over time without integrating into the cell’s genetic material. Our cell therapies are designed to be dosed repeatedly like conventional drugs, administered in an outpatient setting and given without pre-treatment chemotherapy required with many conventional cell therapies. Autoimmune diseases, where the immune system mistakenly attacks the body, are a family of more than 80 disorders. These diseases are typically treated with immunosuppressant medications, such as steroids, biologics and non-steroidal agents such as methotrexate, CD19 directed therapies and intravenous immunoglobulin. These treatments must be administered chronically and carry risks, including infection, osteoporosis and metabolic disease. The treatment landscape within generalized myasthenia gravis, or MG, offers agents that block the complement pathway or inhibit the neonatal Fc receptor, or FcRn, that typically must be administered chronically. Even with recent treatment advancements in the field of MG, we believe there remains a significant unmet need for outpatient treatments, administered over a short period of time, and can provide deep and durable clinical benefit. Limitations of Current Biologic Treatments in Autoimmune Disease Currently approved biologic therapies for MG, such as complement inhibitors and FcRn inhibitors have improved treatment options. However, these therapies are still limited by incomplete response, chronic dosing required to mitigate symptoms, immunosuppression risks, high treatment burden and lack of disease modification. Not all patients with acetylcholine receptor autoantibody positive, or AChR+ MG, the subtype currently being pursued in our Phase 3 AURORA trial, respond adequately to currently approved biologics. We believe the variability in treatment response may be due to differences in underlying disease pathologies, with some patients having disease drivers beyond complement activation (for complement inhibitors) or immunoglobulin G, or IgG, reduction (for FcRn inhibitors). Additionally, some patients experience an initial improvement but later lose response, requiring adjustments in their treatment strategy. Biologic therapies used for MG can increase the risk of infections. Complement inhibitors in particular, heighten susceptibility to Neisseria infections, necessitating vaccination and, in some cases, prophylactic antibiotic use. Patients receiving FcRn inhibitors may also experience an increased risk of infections due to immunoglobulin depletion.…