Candid plans to develop antibody drugs for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Credit: Drazen Zigic via Shutterstock.

T cell engager (TCE) startup Candid Therapeutics has debuted with $370m in its pocket to develop antibody drugs for inflammatory diseases.  

Candid plans to develop T cell engager antibodies to selectively target and deplete specific B lymphocyte populations that play a role in autoimmune diseases. Selective depletion of B lymphocytes has shown clinical effectiveness in patients with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and myasthenia gravis.  

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Headquartered in San Diego, California, the company’s Series A funding round was co-led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Fairmount, TCGX and venBio Partners, with Foresite Capital and Third Rock Ventures also taking part, among others. 

As part of its debut, Candid inherited two advanced bispecific antibodies to kick off its portfolio. CND106 is a BCMAxCD3 antibody from Vignette, and CD20xCD3 is an antibody from TRC 2004. Both candidates, which have completed Phase I trials with over 130 oncology patients, show potential as therapies for autoimmune diseases, according to Candid. 

TCE antibodies have the most promise in becoming scalable and patient-friendly drugs that deplete B cells for the treatment of several autoimmune conditions, said Candid’s new CEO Ken Song, whose previous company RayzeBio was acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb in December 2023. 

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Candid joins a number of high-profile companies that are making waves in the space. In January 2024, MSD acquired Harpoon in a $680m deal, which included Harpoon’s T cell engagers. One of the candidates, named HPN328, is being tested in a Phase I/II trial (NCT04471727) for some types of lung cancer and neuroendocrine tumours. HPN328 was developed using Harpoon’s TriTAC platform.  

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In April, Roche shared data from a trial of its bispecific T cell engager Columvi (glofitamab). The drug, which targets CD3 on T cells and CD20 on B cells, improved survival in a Phase III lymphoma trial. The 270 participants received either Columvi or Rituxan (rituximab) on top of a regimen of two chemotherapy drugs, gemcitabine and oxaliplatin.  

In the announcement accompanying the launch, Song said that Candid’s drugs have the potential to “go above and beyond the clinical and commercial success of Humira and Rituxan.” AbbVie’s Humira (adalimumab) and Biogen and Genentech’s Rituxan are blockbuster autoimmune drugs that pulled in $14.5bn and $1.8bn last year, respectively, as per the company’s financials.