Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (Candel or the Company) (Nasdaq: CADL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing multimodal biological immunotherapies to help patients fight cancer, today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted Orphan Designation for CAN-2409 (aglatimagene besadenovec) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. This designation complements CAN-2409’s existing U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Orphan Drug Designation and FDA Fast Track Designation for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) awarded to CAN-2409 in April 2024 and December 2023, respectively, and underscores the significant unmet medical need in this disease beyond the U.S.

CAN-2409 is an investigational, off-the-shelf, replication-defective adenovirus engineered to deliver the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-tk) gene to tumor cells. When administered with a prodrug (valacyclovir or acyclovir), the HSV-tk enzyme converts the prodrug into DNA-incorporating nucleotide analogs, causing immunogenic cell death and the release of tumor (neo)antigens within the tumor microenvironment (TME). This mechanism has the potential to induce an individualized, systemic immune response against multiple therapy-resistant solid tumors, including prostate cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and PDAC.

The Company previously reported positive overall survival (OS) data from its randomized controlled phase 2a clinical trial of CAN-2409 plus valacyclovir in borderline resectable PDAC, demonstrating remarkable survival benefits with estimated median OS of 31.4 months in the CAN-2409 plus standard of care arm versus 12.5 months in the standard of care control arm, supported by immunological biomarker data. Notably, three of seven patients treated with CAN-2409 were still alive at the time of data cut-off (February 20, 2025) with survival of 66.0, 63.6 and 35.8 months after enrollment, respectively, suggesting a long tail of survival.

“Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most challenging malignancies to treat, particularly in patients whose disease is unresectable,” said Garrett Nichols, MD, MS, Chief Medical Officer at Candel. “We observed that CAN-2409 profoundly remodels the tumor microenvironment, transforming it from ‘cold’ (non-inflamed and immunosuppressive) to ‘hot’ (inflamed with active immune infiltration) and extends survival.”

The EMA grants Orphan Designation to drugs and biologics intended for the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of rare, life-threatening or chronically debilitating diseases or conditions that affect fewer than five in 10,000 people in the European Union. Orphan Designation allows pharmaceutical companies certain benefits, including reduced regulatory fees, clinical protocol assistance, research grants and up to 10 years of market exclusivity in the European Union, if approved.

“Receiving EMA Orphan Designation for CAN-2409 represents a significant regulatory milestone for CAN-2409 in this disease,” said Paul Peter Tak, MD, PhD, FMedSci, President and Chief Executive Officer of Candel. “This designation, alongside our existing FDA Orphan Drug and Fast Track Designations for CAN-2409 in PDAC, underscores the promise of our novel multimodal immunotherapy approach. The notable benefits we’ve observed with CAN-2409, including evidence of a long tail of survival, highlight the transformative potential of this immunotherapy. As we advance our regulatory strategy across global markets, we remain committed to bringing CAN-2409 to patients who face limited therapeutic options. We look forward to continuing our development efforts and working with regulatory authorities across the world to make this innovative therapy available to patients in need.”

CAN-2409 has received regulatory designations recognizing its potential across multiple solid tumor indications. In addition to the EMA Orphan Designation announced today and the FDA Orphan Drug Designation and FDA Fast Track Designation for PDAC mentioned above, CAN-2409 has also received FDA Fast Track Designation for NSCLC and localized prostate cancer, as well as FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation (RMAT) for intermediate-to-high risk, localized prostate cancer.