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Ken Song, M.D., specifically called out Humira and Biogen and Rituxan as autoimmune drugs he thinks Candid Therapeutic' T-cell engagers can dethrone. After overseeing the $4.1 billion sale of radiopharma player RayzeBio to Bristol Myers Squibb, biotech veteran Ken Song, M.D., didn’t take long to set up his next big venture. He is now chairman, president and CEO of Candid Therapeutics, which has debuted with a $370 million series A and a goal to dominate the T-cell engager market.In an unusual move, Candid’s launch combines fundraising and the acquisition of two biotechs, Vignette Bio and TRC 2004, along with their lead assets. There are big names among the backers: The 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, according to a Sept. 9 press release.The round is one of the biggest so far this year, coming in ahead of the $325 million series C ArsenalBio announced just days ago.“It was unconventional to bring together ultimately what was three financings, two licensing transactions and an M&A,” Song told Fierce Biotech in an interview. “But it got done.” T-cell engagers are bispecific antibodies that bind to T cells and a molecule on a target cell, coercing the T cells to attack the target. The engagers Candid picked up from Vignette and TRC were both developed in China to treat cancer. CND106, from Vignette, targets B-cell maturation antigen, while CND262 from TRC binds to CD20. Both then also bind to CD3 on the surface of T cells.Song initially formed San Diego-based Candid as a shell company while scouting out the biotech landscape. “I probably looked at over 50 opportunities,” he said, before settling on T-cell engagers. It was data on CAR T-cell therapies’ ability to treat refractory autoimmune disease by depleting B cells that initially caught his eye.“Our view was, why are people doing this with cell therapy?” Song said. There are “many approved bispecifics, and they accomplish pretty much the same thing” while also being less intensive treatments, he said. If T-cell engagers prove that they can match or exceed the efficacy of cell therapies, Song thinks the industry should look to move on from cell therapies.“We should really focus our efforts on doing what we think is the right way, rather than trying to hold on to legacy stuff,” Song said. “We're not there yet, but I think we're going to get there.” On the assumption that a deluge of T-cell engager bispecific antibodies is coming, Song decided to strike. “What we wanted to do was to set up the company in a way that positioned us to be able to get first to market,” he said. Initially, they needed clinical-stage assets—CND106 and CND262 have both completed phase 1 trials—then the capital and the right team.Song recruited Timothy Lu, M.D., Ph.D., who developed oral IL-17 autoimmune drugs at DICE Therapeutics (since acquired by Eli Lilly), to be chief medical and scientific officer. Chief Technology Officer Bernie Huyghe, Ph.D., was initially recommended to him as a chemistry, manufacturing and controls consultant, but Song was impressed by his work and asked him to come aboard full-time. And he reunited with his former colleague from RayzeBio Arvind Kush, who is Candid’s chief financial and business officer.Song chose the name Candid because that’s how he wants the company to operate. “My view is a lot of companies in biotech and a lot of the way management teams operate is that they're not necessarily upfront or transparent in what's actually happening,” he said. “If the data sucks, the data sucks, right? And you should be able to own up to it.”Candid is now focused on filing IND applications for its new assets so that the company can study them in autoimmune disease; Song said he hopes they will have clinical data on at least the drugs’ safety by 2025. In the press release, Song specifically called out AbbVie’s Humira and Biogen and Genentech’s Rituxan as autoimmune drugs he thinks Candid’s T-cell engagers can dethrone.“How many companies can actually sit here and get investors to also believe you when you say these drugs could be bigger than Humira?” Song said. “This is like the same potential magnitude and impact as what we saw with immunotherapy and PD-1/PD-L1. This is what attracted us to it.”

SAN DIEGO--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Candid Therapeutics, Inc. (“Candid”), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing potentially transformative drugs to address autoimmune diseases, announced its official launch today. Recent groundbreaking clinical data has showcased the pivotal role of a specific subset of immune cells, B lymphocytes, in autoimmune diseases. B lymphocytes lead to autoimmune pathology by producing autoantibodies that attack the body's own tissues and also through antigen presentation and cytokine release. Selective depletion of B lymphocytes has shown unprecedented clinical efficacy in highly refractory patients across multiple autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and myasthenia gravis. Candid is developing T-cell engager (“TCE”) antibodies that can deplete specific B lymphocyte cell populations and aims to be the first company to bring these novel therapies to market. To accelerate development of and position Candid to become the leader in TCE antibodies for autoimmune diseases, Candid acquired Vignette Bio and TRC 2004 through a simultaneous three-way merger and multi-step financing. This acquisition integrates two cutting-edge bispecific TCEs: CND106, a BCMAxCD3 bispecific antibody from Vignette Bio, which was initially founded by Foresite Labs who exclusively licensed ex-China rights for the drug candidate from EpimAb Biotherapeutics. CND261, a CD20xCD3 bispecific antibody from TRC 2004, which was established through a collaboration between Two River and Third Rock Ventures who exclusively licensed ex-China rights for the drug candidate from Genor Biopharma. CND106 and CND261 have both completed Phase 1 dose escalation studies with combined data in over 130 oncology patients. Both drug candidates have shown potential to become best-in-class therapies for various autoimmune diseases. The founding Candid team includes an accomplished set of seasoned entrepreneurs who have repeatedly advanced nascent ideas into late-stage development products and commercialization. Ken Song, MD as Chairman, President and CEO has successfully led several life science companies with over $5.5 billion in realized shareholder value. Most recently he led RayzeBio, a radiopharmaceutical company, from concept to Phase 3 in just over 3 years and negotiated a $4.1 billion sale of the company earlier this year to Bristol Myers Squibb. Timothy Lu, MD, PhD as Chief Medical and Scientific Officer was instrumental in the clinical development of novel oral IL-17 drugs for autoimmune diseases at DICE Therapeutics which was acquired last year by Eli Lilly, where he stayed on until joining the Candid team. Bernie Huyghe, PhD as Chief Technology Officer has over 30 years of experience in manufacturing of biologics and other complex therapeutic products and prior to Candid, was overseeing two Phase 3 antibody programs at Viridian Therapeutics. Arvind Kush as Chief Financial and Business Officer has had an illustrious career first as a managing director in healthcare banking at Bank of America before transitioning to RayzeBio as CFO where he navigated a highly successful oversubscribed IPO in September 2023. In conjunction with the merger, Candid has successfully raised over $370 million in capital from an extensive roster of investors, which includes a recently completed financing co-led by Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, Fairmount, TCGX, and venBio Partners. Other notable healthcare investors supporting the company include Foresite Capital, Third Rock Ventures, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Samsara BioCapital, Qiming Venture Partners USA, OrbiMed, Boxer Capital, Redmile Group, Vida Ventures, Two River, Franklin Templeton, LifeSci Venture Partners, Mirae Asset Capital Life Science, Polaris Innovation Fund, Soleus Capital and other reputable institutional and mutual fund investors. This substantial financial backing highlights strong investor confidence in Candid's purposeful approach and strategic vision, positioning the company for significant impact in bringing forth first-in-class therapies to patients with autoimmune diseases. “TCE antibodies have the most promise as scalable and patient friendly drugs to deplete B cells for treatment of a myriad of autoimmune conditions and represents a once in a generation development opportunity,” said Dr. Ken Song, Chairman, President, and CEO of Candid Therapeutics. “The drugs we are developing at Candid have the potential to go above and beyond the clinical and commercial success of Humira® and Rituxan® and I am thrilled to be leading the Candid team knowing we can possibly make history by changing the paradigm in how autoimmune diseases are treated.” About Candid Therapeutics, Inc. Candid Therapeutics is an innovative biotechnology company dedicated to advancing the treatment of a range of immunological conditions. Established in 2024 and headquartered in San Diego, CA, Candid is driven by a team of repeatedly successful entrepreneurs with deep expertise and strong execution abilities. Supported by a distinguished syndicate of leading healthcare investors, Candid is committed to discovering and developing cutting-edge therapeutic programs that address significant unmet medical needs in immunology. About Vignette Bio, Inc. Vignette Bio was formed in 2024. The company was incubated by Foresite Labs, an incubation platform led by an experienced team who believe that the tools of data science, when applied with scientific rigor, will greatly accelerate scientific discovery and the development of new products and services that benefit patients. Vignette Bio was backed by Foresite Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, Samsara BioCapital, and Mirae Asset Capital Life Science. About TRC 2004 TRC 2004 was a company co-founded by Two River and Third Rock Ventures. Two River has founded some of the most successful cell therapy companies in the industry, including Kite Pharma (acquired by Gilead Sciences, Inc.). Third Rock Ventures is a leading healthcare venture firm that has raised $3.8 billion dollars since its inception, fueling investment in over 60 portfolio companies that have delivered numerous products to market across multiple therapeutic modalities and indications