Gene editing is all the rage in biotechnology these days, but Caribou Biosciences Inc. has taken a different path than its CRISPR peers by diversifying beyond therapeutics to agriculture, industrial and applied research. The company also has taken a different financing path – recently closing a $30m Series B venture capital round instead of pursuing an initial public offering.

Two companies in the biopharma space began trading publicly this week, one to pay off debt, the other to fund an early-stage pipeline.

The biotech is shifting gears after clinical hold on its lead drug was unlikely to be lifted, but the early-stage candidate that it's placing its hopes on is raising red flags for analysts and investors.