Candel Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CADL) CEO Dr. Paul Peter Tak talked with Proactive about the company’s recently secured $130 million term loan facility with Trinity Capital.
Dr. Tak said the non-dilutive funding would support key operational priorities, including the planned BLA submission for its lead asset CAN-2409 in prostate cancer.
Proactive: Candel has entered into a five-year, $130 million term loan facility with Trinity Capital. This is clearly a major development for the company. Tell me how this came about and what it means for Candel.
Dr. Paul Peter Tak: We felt it was important, at this stage of the company, to secure access to non-dilutive funding to support our operations. Our top priority is preparing for the BLA submission for CAN-2409, our lead asset in prostate cancer, and completing our commercialization efforts. This financing will be extremely helpful in achieving that.
We are also advancing another major program, therapy-resistant non-small cell lung cancer, where we have seen very encouraging data. Since our previous data readout, we have focused on enabling activities such as a positive End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA and protocol development. To initiate a large clinical trial, we needed access to non-dilutive capital because we want to avoid unnecessary dilution for our shareholders.
We are very pleased with the outcome. This deal provides strong external validation. Trinity is a high-quality partner that conducted extensive due diligence before moving forward.
The structure allows you to draw down the first $50 million immediately once the deal closes, and then access the remaining funds upon meeting certain milestones. Is that correct?
Yes, that is absolutely right. It is a structured deal with multiple inflection points, which is quite standard. It also means we do not have to borrow the entire amount right away, only as we need it.
You have mentioned prioritizing certain programs while organizing others differently. Can you elaborate on how you are approaching that?
Of course. Our lead asset, CAN-2409, is a broad solid-tumor therapy. It has shown activity in every indication we have tested, including prostate cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer, among others.
In our current hierarchy of priorities, prostate cancer comes first, followed by non-small cell lung cancer, and then pancreatic cancer, which remains very important. However, to avoid shareholder dilution, we have decided to pause the launch of another large clinical program in pancreatic cancer for now.
We have already completed the enabling work, recently held a successful Scientific Advisory Board meeting, and received orphan drug designation from both the EMA and FDA. So we are ready to go, but we will only move forward if we can secure additional non-dilutive funding, ideally through a strategic partnership.
Are there many potential partners out there? Do you feel confident the company can reach such an agreement?
Definitely. Of course, you only know for sure once a deal is signed and disclosed, but we are continuously exploring strategic options. Having spent much of my career in big pharma, including as Global Head of Development at GSK, I know how effective large companies can be at bringing medicines to patients worldwide.
At the same time, any deal must be the right deal. We will not enter into an agreement that does not make strategic sense for Candel. That said, there has been significant interest. We have had ongoing, confidential discussions with potential partners for some time, and those conversations continue to progress.
Quotes have been lightly edited for style and clarity