Candel Therapeutics Unveils New Cancer Therapies at 16th IOVC

NEEDHAM, Mass., Oct. 28, 2024 – Candel Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical firm at the clinical stage, continues its innovative work in the field of cancer treatment with multimodal biological immunotherapies. Recently, the company announced its participation in the 16th Annual International Oncolytic Virotherapy Conference (IOVC) in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from October 27-30, 2024. The presentations at this event will highlight Candel’s latest developments, including new insights from the ongoing phase 1b clinical trial of CAN-3110 for recurrent high-grade glioma (rHGG), a new immunotherapy candidate from the enLIGHTEN™ Discovery Platform, and a comprehensive review of the company's broad clinical and preclinical pipeline.

Dr. E. Antonio Chiocca, Professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School and Executive Director of the Center for Tumors of the Nervous System (CTNS), will present findings from the phase 1b clinical trial of CAN-3110. This presentation will assess the safety and feasibility of multiple injections of CAN-3110 in patients with rHGG. Initial results show that three out of six patients have survived more than a year after beginning treatment. Additionally, biopsies revealed a substantial lymphocyte presence and minimal tumor cells, indicating potential radiologic pseudo-progression, where imaging may not accurately reflect the absence of cancer cells.

Dr. Qiuchen Guo, Discovery Scientist at Candel Therapeutics, will discuss a poster on a new multimodal immunotherapy developed from the enLIGHTEN™ Discovery Platform. This novel therapeutic candidate encodes IL-12 and IL-15, which are crucial for boosting the immune response within the tumor microenvironment. Preclinical data demonstrate significant tumor growth inhibition and regression due to the expansion and activation of natural killer and CD8+ T cells.

Dr. Francesca Barone, Chief Science Officer at Candel, is slated to give an overview of the company's progress, with a particular focus on their leading experimental medicine, CAN-2409. CAN-2409 represents an innovative off-the-shelf treatment designed to trigger an immune response tailored to the patient's tumor. It has shown promising results in various clinical settings and is currently being tested in multiple trials for conditions such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and prostate cancer. The FDA has granted CAN-2409 Fast Track Designation for several indications and Orphan Drug Designation for PDAC.

Candel's enLIGHTEN™ Discovery Platform utilizes a herpes simplex virus (HSV)-based approach to create bespoke biological immunotherapies for solid tumors. This platform employs advanced analytics to tailor multi-gene payloads, which are delivered to the tumor microenvironment to enhance therapeutic efficacy. In collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, Candel aims to enhance the effectiveness of CAR-T therapies in solid tumors.

Candel Therapeutics is dedicated to advancing its pipeline of biological immunotherapies aimed at eliciting a systemic anti-tumor immune response. Their leading candidates, CAN-2409 and CAN-3110, are in various stages of clinical trials, targeting a range of challenging cancers. The data presented at the IOVC highlight the potential of Candel’s approaches and reinforce the promise of their therapeutic strategies in oncology.

By leveraging innovative viral vectors and a deep understanding of tumor biology, Candel Therapeutics continues to push the boundaries of cancer immunotherapy. Their work aims to provide new hope for patients battling some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers.