Candel Therapeutics adds systems immunology expert to advisory board

Candel Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CADL) announced the appointment of Bali Pulendran, Ph.D., to its Research Advisory Board. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focuses on developing viral immunotherapies for cancer treatment.

Pulendran serves as the Violetta L. Horton Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of the Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection at Stanford University. He received his Ph.D. from the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute and is recognized for research in systems immunology and vaccinology, including discoveries about dendritic cell subtypes and immune response mechanisms.

His research has appeared in journals including Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Medicine, and Nature Immunology. Thomson Reuters lists him among Highly Cited Researchers, recognizing researchers whose papers rank in the top 1% by citations.

"Candel's innovative viral immunotherapy platform represents a compelling approach to activating the immune system against cancer," Pulendran said in a statement. "I look forward to contributing my experience in systems immunology and understanding immune responses to help advance these promising therapies."

Candel develops multimodal biological immunotherapies based on modified adenovirus and herpes simplex virus gene constructs. The company's lead candidate CAN-2409 recently completed phase 2a trials in non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, plus a phase 3 trial in localized prostate cancer under a Special Protocol Assessment with the FDA.

The FDA has granted CAN-2409 Fast Track Designation for treating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, stage III/IV non-small cell lung cancer in certain patients, and localized primary prostate cancer. The treatment also received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy Designation for newly diagnosed localized prostate cancer and Orphan Drug Designation for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma treatment.

CAN-3110, the lead candidate from the HSV platform, is currently in a phase 1b trial for recurrent high-grade glioma and has received Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations from the FDA.

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