EpimAb Biotherapeutics, Inc.

Summit PD-1xVEGF's interim trial miss, UCB's $2 billion acquisition of Candid Therapeutics, and J&J's CAR-T pipeline cull made our news this week. Summit Therapeutics' closely watched PD-1xVEGF study surprisingly missed its mark at an interim analysis. UCB will pay $2 billion upfront to buy Candid Therapeutics, which has aggregated a group of Chinese assets. Johnson & Johnson eliminated two CD20 CAR-T programs that it licensed from Sino-American biotech AbelZeta Pharma. And more.1. Summit's PD-1xVEGF interim trial miss surprises analysts, shares tumbleTo investors’ dismay, an interim analysis of the squamous cohort in Summit Therapeutics’ global Harmoni-3 trial for ivonescimab in first-line non-small cell lung cancer apparently didn’t meet statistical significance on progression-free survival. As the trial continues to its final PFS analysis, analysts raised concerns that the readout could indicate a degradation in the PD-1xVEGF bispecific’s benefit from the Chinese to global studies.2. UCB inks $2B Candid buyout to join Gilead in autoimmune fieldUCB has agreed to buy Candid Therapeutics for $2 billion upfront before the T-cell engager biotech’s planned reverse merger with Rallybio. Candid has risen rapidly, beginning with a $370 million series A round in 2024. The company has built a pipeline on Chinese assets licensed from the likes of EpimAb, Genor Biopharma, WuXi Biologics and Harbour BioMed.3. J&J axes $5B CAR-T dream months after touting best-in-disease efficacyJohnson & Johnson has discontinued a CD20 CAR-T and a CD19xCD20 bispecific CAR-T that it received from Sino-American firm AbelZeta Pharma, then called Cellular Biomedicine. The Big Pharma company once said its CD20-based CAR-T programs could reach more than $5 billion in peak sales. Now, it's citing “the evolving large B-cell lymphoma treatment landscape” as the rationale for the cull. 4. ‘A concerted industry-government effort’: Strand Therapeutics CEO Jake Becraft on FDA’s IND reform and ChinaIn an interview with Fierce, Strand Therapeutics CEO Jake Becraft, Ph.D., argued that the U.S. must modernize its regulatory framework, pursuing goals like reducing manufacturing requirements for early-stage clinical trials, to compete with China in biotechnology. He suggested that the U.S. risks losing more capabilities if it keeps relying on foreign countries to run first-in-human studies.5. GSK pens $1B deal with China’s SiranBio for oligonucleotide that could reduce abdominal fatGSK is paying China’s SiranBio $55 million upfront for an oligonucleotide candidate that targets activin receptor-like kinase 7 to potentially reduce abdominal fat while preserving lean mass. The biotech will finish a phase 1 trial before GSK takes over, and it’s entitled to up to $1 billion in milestone payments. 6. CDMO Samsung Biologics estimates $102M impact stemming from ongoing union strikeUnion workers at Korean CDMO Samsung Biologics kick off strikeAs thousands of union workers at Samsung Biologics went on strike last week, the Korean CDMO has estimated a financial impact of about 150 billion Korean won ($102 million). The company is trying to maintain supply stability and remains in conversation with the union, a spokesperson said. The union is reportedly seeking a 14% average wage increase, among other demands.Other News of Note:7. Takeda pivotal trial win improves convenience for PID patients relative to HyQvia8. BioNTech to slash 1,860 jobs, exit sites in Germany and Singapore in major manufacturing pullback9. Windward catches $165M breeze to fuel long-acting TSLP ambitions10. Bipartisan PRIMATE Act aims to ban monkey imports to US11. Banyan BioInnovations puts down roots with $100M, Icon partnership12. Olympus, EndoRobotics in distribution pact for robot-assisted endoscopic tech

Candid has generated early evidence that its one-and-done approach can achieve long-term remission.\n UCB has struck a deal to acquire Candid Therapeutics for $2 billion upfront, hijacking a planned reverse merger with Rallybio to challenge Gilead for an emerging opportunity for T-cell engagers (TCEs).Candid has risen rapidly in recent years. Fresh from leading radiopharma player RayzeBio to a $4.1 billion takeover by Bristol Myers Squibb, Ken Song, M.D., founded Candid and raised a $370 million series A round in 2024. Candid represented a bet that TCEs could replicate the encouraging clinical data on CAR-Ts in autoimmune diseases, while supporting outpatient dosing with off-the-shelf medicines.UCB has bought into the idea. Two months after licensing a drug candidate from Antengene, the Belgian biotech has moved to significantly expand its TCE pipeline by paying $2 billion upfront and up to $200 million in development milestones for Candid.The acquired pipeline is led by cizutamig, a BCMAxCD3 TCE that is on the cusp of phase 2. By killing BCMA-expressing B cells, plasmablasts and plasma cells, the bispecific antibody could deplete cells that drive autoimmune diseases. The mechanism, which echoes the approach of CAR-Ts, could drive lasting improvements in autoimmune disease patients. Candid has generated early evidence that its one-and-done approach can achieve long-term remission, reporting deep depletion of B cells and plasma cells in phase 1. The effects suggest cizutamig may reset the immune system.In March, Candid revealed plans to merge with the Nasdaq-listed Rallybio and raise $505 million. At the time, Song said on a conference call with investors that Candid planned to move cizutamig into phase 2 studies in myasthenia gravis and interstitial lung disease in mid-2026. The plan reflected early evidence of efficacy and of limited cytokine release syndrome (CRS), an adverse event associated with TCEs and CAR-T cell therapies. Fewer than 15% of the first 47 autoimmune patients to receive cizutamig had CRS, Song said, and all the cases were mild. UCB said (PDF) Candid has now treated 68 autoimmune disease patients and seen “predominantly low-grade, manageable CRS.”Ouro Medicines is developing a rival BCMAxCD3 TCE for use in autoimmune disorders. Gilead struck a deal to buy Ouro for $1.675 billion upfront, plus up to $500 million in milestones, in March. Galapagos will work with Gilead to develop Ouro’s programs.  The back-to-back buyouts of Ouro and Candid leave Cullinan Therapeutics, which licensed a BCMAxCD3 TCE last year, among the independent players in the space. Genrix Bio, the Chinese biotech that Cullinan licensed the asset from, is running a phase 1 trial that is expected to deliver initial data late this year.  Beyond cizutamig, Candid is running a phase 1 study of CND261, a CD20xCD3 bispecific, in rheumatoid arthritis. Cizutamig and CND261 have both been tested in blood cancers. Candid’s preclinical pipeline includes a pair of trispecific TCEs, one that engages CD19, CD20 and CD3 and another aimed at BCMA, CD19 and CD3. The young biotech built its pipeline mostly on Chinese assets licensed from the likes of EpimAb and Genor Biopharma.Candid originally planned to develop the candidates itself using the $505 million financing associated with the Rallybio reverse merger. The terms of the merger require Candid to pay Rallybio a termination fee of up to $50 million in some circumstances. 

SHANGHAI, April 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EpimAb Biotherapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company specializing in the development of bispecific antibodies and T-cell engagers, is pleased to announce that the company will be presenting a Novel Prodrug T-Cell Engager (ProTCE) Platform poster presentation at the upcoming 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting taking place at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, from April 17-22, 2026. The posters will feature: ProTCE Platform and Initial Pre-clinical Proof of Concept for EM33. Details for the presentation are as follows: ProTCE Platform and its Candidate ProTCE EM33 Title: A novel and versatile Prodrug T cell engager platform with a novel candidate demonstrating potent and tumor-restricted activity Presentation Number: 1610 Presentation Date: Monday, April 20, 2026 Presentation Time: 9:00AM - 12:00PM, local time (Location: Poster Section 10) "We are pleased to present our Prodrug T-cell engager technology platform at AACR annual conference. This achievement validates the global competitiveness and clinical translation potential of our proprietary innovations, marking a key milestone in advancing the company’s R&D capabilities," said Dr. Chengbin Wu, Founder and CEO of EpimAb. "Moving forward, the platform aims to address key unmet medical needs and advance the development of safer and more effective therapeutic options for patients worldwide." About EpimAb Biotherapeutics, Inc EpimAb Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of multi-specific antibodies. Utilizing a broad range of in-house research and technology capabilities, including the proprietary FIT-Ig ® (Fabs-In-Tandem Immunoglobulin) and MAT-Fab (Monovalent Asymmetric Tandem Fab) bispecific platform, EpimAb is generating and globally advancing a unique pipeline of transformative preclinical and clinical assets that aim to benefit cancer patients. For further information, please visit: Investor Contact Dr. David Gu Phone: +86-21-61951011 Email: IR@epimab.com BD Contact Dr. Jason Tang Phone: +86-21-61951014 Email: partnering@epimab.com