Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (CADL), a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company, has announced the acquisition of two U.S. firms, Vignette Bio and TRC 2004 Inc. The move allows Candel to secure Vignette Bio’s BCMA/CD bispecific antibody (BsAb) and TRC 2004’s CD3/CD20 BsAb. Vignette Bio, a joint venture between Shanghai-based EpimAb Biotherapeutics, Inc. and itself, had developed EMB-06, a T-cell engager (TCE) targeting BCMA for out-licensing. TRC 2004, established by China’s Genor Biopharma Co., Ltd (6998.HK) along with Two River and Third Rock, had been developing GB261, a CD20/CD3 TCE.
Concurrently, Candel Therapeutics has closed a financing round worth USD 370 million, which is designated for the development of innovative drugs aimed at treating autoimmune diseases. The funding was co-led by Venrock, Fairmount, TCGX, and venBio, with additional investments from a consortium including Foresite, Third Rock, Fidelity, Samsara, Qiming Venture Partners, OrbiMed, Boxer, Redmile, Vida, Two River, Franklin Templeton, LifeSci, Mirae, Polaris, and Soleus.
This acquisition and financing round reflect a burgeoning trend among Chinese businesses to expand abroad through “NewCo” strategies. In May of this year, Hengrui Medicine revealed a deal to supply Hercules CM Newco Inc., a newly established U.S. firm, with a suite of GLP-1 products for development and commercialization outside of Greater China. Hercules, which was incorporated in May and is backed by Bain Capital Life Sciences, RTW Investments, Atlas Venture, and Lyra Capital, marks a strategic move in the global pharmaceutical market. With these acquisitions, Candel now possesses three distinct development pipelines. – Flcube.com
