Candel Therapeutics, a developer of viral immunotherapies, has acquired all oncolytic and other Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) based assets from PeriphaGen, Inc., bringing its vector engineering, production expertise and next-generation HSV drug development platform in-house. The acquisition expands Candel’s viral therapy leadership position and supports further development of Candel’s rQNestin34.5, currently in Phase I for recurrent malignant gliomas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.  
 
The acquired development platform enables precise modifications to the virus backbone, allowing customization of viral traits such as replication capacity, tissue specificity and expression of a large number of payloads including immunomodulators. The new platform will support the rapid generation of drug candidates that can be tailored to a range of indications and tumor types. 
 
Candel also acquired PeriphaGen’s lead product candidate developed to address chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy. This product candidate has been engineered to provide neuroprotective activity via high-level and durable expression of a neurotrophin peptide to specific impacted nerve ganglia. PeriphaGen’s two scientific founders, highly respected experts in Herpes vectorology and peripheral neuropathy, David Krisky, M.D., Ph.D. and James Wechuck, Ph.D, have joined Candel to support the integration and continuous development of the platform and products.
 
“The acquisition of PeriphaGen’s platform is highly complementary to Candel’s strategy, accelerating our drug development and manufacturing capabilities to advance innovative HSV gene therapy products,” said Dr. Estuardo Aguilar Cordova, chief executive officer of Candel. “With this transaction, we further strengthen our position as one of the most advanced companies in the viral therapeutic space.”