Apr 1, 2019

Advantagene, Inc. d.b.a. Candel Therapeutics , an Auburndale, MA-based company developing proprietary immuno-oncology platforms, closed a $22.5m Series C financing. The round was led by Northpond Ventures with participation from Sands Capital Ventures, H7 Holdings and Level One Partners. In conjunction of the financing, Michael P. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., founder and CEO of Northpond Ventures, will join Candel Therapeutics’s board of directors. The company plans to use the funds to expand its operational capabilities and further accelerate its ongoing clinical development initiatives and to launch a GMCI pivotal trial for brain cancer patients. Led by Dr. Estuardo Aguilar-Cordova, Chairman and CEO, Candel Therapeutics is developing the Gene Mediated Cytotoxic Immunotherapy (GMCI™) and the oncolytic rQNestin34.5 platforms for the treatment of solid tumors. The company’s lead programs are based on the company’s Gene Mediated Cytotoxic Immunotherapy (GMCI™) technology and include two randomized studies in prostate cancer, including a Phase 3 under an FDA approved Special Protocol Assessment. Candel also has ongoing clinical programs in glioma, lung and pancreatic cancer. The company has completed a Phase 2 clinical study in high grade glioma that showed promising results, including an indication of survival benefit. The launch of a combination GMCI-checkpoint inhibitor clinical study, in collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb and the Adult Brain Tumor Consortium, was recently announced. Candel also has an ongoing study for recurrent GBM patients with rQNestin34.5, the company’s oncolytic herpes-based platform. FinSMEs