On April 4, 2024 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, reported updated interim survival data from the ongoing randomized phase 2 clinical trial of CAN-2409 plus valacyclovir (prodrug), together with standard of care (SoC) chemoradiation, followed by resection for borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) (Press release, Candel Therapeutics, APR 4, 2024, View Source [SID1234641773]). Survival data were updated with eight months of further follow-up since the first analysis presented at the 2023 Society for Immunotherapy (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) Annual Meeting. Based on the data presented at SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track Designation to the Company for CAN-2409 in combination with valacyclovir for the treatment of patients with PDAC in December 2023.

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"Given frequent recurrence and short survival with SoC chemotherapy for non-metastatic PDAC, effective new treatment options are urgently needed," said Garrett Nichols, MD, MS, Chief Medical Officer of Candel. "We are very encouraged by the improved survival associated with CAN-2409, which has been shown to be durable after prolonged follow-up based on the updated data shown in this randomized clinical trial. CAN-2409 was generally well tolerated without significant additional local or systemic toxicity when added to SoC chemoradiation."

Data Highlights as of a March 29, 2024 Data Cut-off, Include:

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Prolonged and sustained survival was observed after experimental treatment with CAN-2409 in patients with borderline resectable PDAC (n=13)

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Estimated median overall survival was 28.8 months in the CAN-2409 group versus only 12.5 months in the control group.

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At 24 months, a survival rate of 71.4% was observed in CAN-2409 treated patients, after SoC chemoradiation and prior to surgery, versus only 16.7% in the control group. At 36 months, a survival rate of 47.6% was estimated in patients who received CAN-2409, together with SoC chemoradiation prior to surgery, versus only 16.7% in the control group.

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Importantly, 4 out of 7 patients who received CAN-2409 were still alive at the time of data cut-off, with 2 patients surviving more than 50.0 months from enrollment. Only 1 out of 6 patients, randomized to control SoC chemotherapy, remained alive at data cut-off (alive at 50.6 months).

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Previous analysis of blood and resected tumors showed consistent and robust activation of the immune response after experimental treatment with CAN-2409

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In pancreatic tissue of patients treated with CAN-2409 plus prodrug together with SoC (but not SoC alone), dense aggregates of CD8+ granzyme B positive cytotoxic tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and B cells were observed in the tumor microenvironment.

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Increased levels of soluble granzymes B and H, as well as pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IFN-γ, were observed in peripheral blood after CAN-2409 administration, but not after SoC.

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CAN-2409 continued to be associated with a favorable safety/tolerability profile

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Addition of CAN-2409 regimen to SoC was generally well tolerated, with no dose-limiting toxicities, including no cases of pancreatitis

"The failure of conventional immunotherapy to improve outcomes in pancreatic cancer is attributed to the highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, which is largely devoid of immune cells," said Paul Peter Tak, MD, PhD, FMedSci, President and Chief Executive Officer of Candel. "The immunological changes induced by CAN-2409, evident in the pancreatic tissue and the peripheral blood after administration, suggest that CAN-2409 is able to change the balance between the tumor and the patient’s anti-tumor immune response, which can convert progressive cancer into a chronic disease associated with improved survival."