Candid Therapeutics launches to harness T-cell engagers

Candid Therapeutics launched Sept. 9 with $370 million in funding. Its goal is to manufacture bispecific T-cell engagers (TCEs) to combat autoimmune disorders. The company has not only raised a huge series A fundraising round but also acquired two clinical-stage TCE antibody assets—CND106 and CND261—by merging with biotechs Vignette Bio and TRC 2004. Candid is led by President and CEO Kevin Song, who previously led the radiopharmaceutical firm RayzeBio . He says he sees an opportunity for TCEs to act as simpler and more scalable alternatives to cell-based therapies for autoimmunity. In autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and myasthenia gravis, a person’s B cells create antibodies to self cells, or they can present antigens to T-cells, which induces autoimmunity. So, depleting these offending B cells is an attractive treatment option. While some companies want to use CAR-T cells to do this , Candid plans to use TCE antibodies that bind