Candid Therapeutics aims to lead T-cell engager wave with $370M debut

Ken Song, M.D., a seasoned biotech entrepreneur, has quickly moved on to his next significant venture after orchestrating the $4.1 billion sale of radiopharmaceutical company RayzeBio to Bristol Myers Squibb. Now, Song serves as chairman, president, and CEO of Candid Therapeutics, a company that has launched with an impressive $370 million Series A funding round aiming to lead the market in T-cell engagers. Candid's unique approach combines fundraising with the acquisition of two biotech companies, Vignette Bio and TRC 2004, and their primary assets. The financing round was co-led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Fairmount, TCGX, and venBio Partners, with participation from other notable investors such as Foresite Capital and Third Rock Ventures.

The substantial Series A funding round marks one of the largest this year, surpassing even the $325 million Series C round by ArsenalBio. In a conversation with Fierce Biotech, Song remarked on the unconventional nature of combining three financings, two licensing agreements, and an M&A transaction to set up Candid. “It was unconventional to bring together ultimately what was three financings, two licensing transactions, and an M&A,” Song said. “But it got done.”

T-cell engagers are bispecific antibodies that bind to T cells and target cells, prompting the T cells to attack the target cells. The assets acquired from Vignette and TRC were originally developed in China for cancer treatment. Vignette’s CND106 targets B-cell maturation antigen, and TRC’s CND262 binds to CD20, both engaging CD3 on the surface of T cells. Song initially created Candid as a shell company while exploring various biotech opportunities, eventually focusing on T-cell engagers after reviewing over 50 possibilities. He was particularly intrigued by data showing that CAR T-cell therapies could treat refractory autoimmune diseases by depleting B cells.

“Our view was, why are people doing this with cell therapy?” Song said. He pointed out that bispecific antibodies accomplish similar results with less intensive treatment. Song believes that if T-cell engagers can match or surpass the efficacy of cell therapies, the industry should shift its focus to these less intensive options. “We should really focus our efforts on doing what we think is the right way, rather than trying to hold on to legacy stuff,” he said. “We're not there yet, but I think we're going to get there.”

Believing that a wave of T-cell engager bispecific antibodies is imminent, Song acted swiftly. “What we wanted to do was to set up the company in a way that positioned us to be able to get first to market,” he explained. To achieve this, the company needed clinical-stage assets, sufficient capital, and the right team. Both CND106 and CND262 have completed phase 1 trials, meeting the clinical asset requirement.

Song brought in key personnel to build his team. Timothy Lu, M.D., Ph.D., known for developing oral IL-17 autoimmune drugs at DICE Therapeutics (now part of Eli Lilly), joined as chief medical and scientific officer. Bernie Huyghe, Ph.D., initially brought in as a consultant, impressed Song enough to be named Chief Technology Officer. Also joining Candid is Arvind Kush, Song's former colleague at RayzeBio, who now serves as the chief financial and business officer.

The name "Candid" reflects Song’s aspiration for the company's transparency and straightforwardness. “My view is a lot of companies in biotech and a lot of the way management teams operate is that they're not necessarily upfront or transparent in what's actually happening,” he said. “If the data sucks, the data sucks, right? And you should be able to own up to it.”

Candid is now focused on filing IND applications for its newly acquired assets to study them in autoimmune diseases. Song aims to have clinical safety data on these drugs by 2025. He specifically mentioned that Candid’s T-cell engagers could potentially surpass well-known autoimmune drugs such as AbbVie’s Humira and Biogen and Genentech’s Rituxan.

“How many companies can actually sit here and get investors to also believe you when you say these drugs could be bigger than Humira?” Song said. He likened the potential impact of these drugs to that of immunotherapy and PD-1/PD-L1, highlighting the magnitude of their potential influence.