On October 26, 2022 Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CADL) (Candel or the Company), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing viral immunotherapies, reported a collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to study the impact of novel viral immunotherapies based on Candel’s proprietary enLIGHTEN Discovery Platform to strengthen the effects of Penn’s CAR-T cell therapies in solid tumor models (Press release, Candel Therapeutics, OCT 26, 2022, View Source [SID1234622425]).
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Herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors containing selected transgenes based on Candel’s enLIGHTEN Discovery Platform will be evaluated in combination with investigational CAR-T cell therapies in tumor models. Penn’s work on the research project will be headed by Neil Sheppard, DPhil, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine who serves as Director of the T Cell Engineering Lab, part of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, which is led by Carl H. June, MD, the Richard W. Vague Professor of Immunotherapy at Penn.
Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will collaborate to use novel engineered viruses that break down barriers to CAR-T therapies and to evaluate the effects of these combinations in tumor models. The two parties will retain full ownership of their existing intellectual property and retain rights to proceed towards clinical trials to study the impact of these combinations in clinical trials.
"We are delighted to establish this discovery partnership with Penn as a first step towards evaluating the impact of innovative viral immunotherapies in combination with CAR-T cells with the aim of modulating the tumor microenvironment in such a way that CAR-T cells can get into the solid tumor, stay functional, and eliminate tumor cells. Our HSV constructs, based on the enLIGHTEN Discovery Platform, permit precise tuning of important viral properties and, with a large payload capacity, enable multimodal approaches to fight cancer," said Paul Peter Tak, MD, PhD, FMedSci, President and Chief Executive Officer of Candel Therapeutics. "We look forward to testing these important new combination strategies in collaboration with Penn."
"The solid tumor microenvironment presents numerous challenges to effective cell therapy including stromal barriers, impaired T-cell trafficking and function, poor T-cell expansion and persistence, and an overall suppressive biological milieu," Dr. Sheppard said. "We are excited to work with Candel to address each of the challenges posed by the solid tumor microenvironment simultaneously, which represents a new approach to immunotherapy."