Trinity Capital Inc., an alternative asset manager, announced the commitment of $130 million in growth capital to Candel Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing viral immunotherapies to help patients fight cancer.
Candel Therapeutics is developing a clinical pipeline of off-the-shelf cancer treatments that aim to empower a patient's own immune system to fight cancer. The company's leading therapies, CAN-2409 and CAN-3110, focus on treating solid tumors in a variety of cancers including prostate, pancreatic, lung, and brain cancer. Candel has been granted multiple FDA designations, including Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy Designation (RMAT) for the treatment of localized prostate cancer, Fast Track Designation for localized prostate cancer and non-small cell lung cancer and dual Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations for both its pancreatic and brain cancer programs.
"As cancer incidence continues to rise, the need for truly transformative therapies has never been greater," said Rob Lake, Senior Managing Director of Life Sciences at Trinity Capital. "We're proud to partner with innovators like Candel, whose compelling clinical evidence proves their potential to change the treatment paradigm for patients facing critical conditions."
Trinity's investment will be used to support Candel's clinical development of CAN-2409, as well as pre-commercial and launch readiness activities for CAN-2409 in prostate cancer, pending regulatory approval.
"Trinity Capital's partnership marks a pivotal moment for Candel," said Paul Peter Tak MD, PhD, FMedSci, President and Chief Executive Officer of Candel Therapeutics. "This strategic financing strengthens our balance sheet and accelerates our ability to advance innovative viral immunotherapies for patients with early localized prostate cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and glioblastoma. With Trinity's flexible life science capital solutions, we are well positioned to drive growth, execute our commercialization strategy, and deliver long-term value for shareholders — reinforcing our commitment to leadership in oncology."