Candel Therapeutics Faces 30% Decline in Premarket Trading

Shares of Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CADL) experienced a 30% drop in premarket trading after the company announced its public offering pricing. The biopharmaceutical firm, which focuses on immunotherapies for cancer, revealed the details of an underwritten public offering consisting of 10 million shares of common stock priced at $6.00 each. Additionally, the offering includes pre-funded warrants for over 3.3 million shares at $5.99 per warrant.

Candel anticipates raising approximately $80 million from this offering, excluding underwriting discounts and related expenses. This development follows a substantial surge in share price earlier in the week, where shares climbed from $4.80 to nearly $14 after positive results from a phase 3 clinical trial.

The trial investigated CAN-2409, a viral immunotherapy, combined with radiation therapy for intermediate-to-high risk localized prostate cancer. The study successfully met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in disease-free survival (DFS). Patients treated with CAN-2409 exhibited a 14.5% relative increase in DFS at 54 months compared to those receiving radiation alone. Furthermore, the treatment showed significant benefits in prostate cancer-free survival and increased the number of patients achieving low levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

Candel also reported that CAN-2409 resulted in 80.4% pathological complete responses in post-treatment biopsies at the 2-year mark, surpassing the control group’s 63.6%. Despite the recent drop in share value, stocks were trading around $6.75.

In addition to phase 3 results, Candel provided updates on a phase 2 trial of CAN-2409 as a monotherapy for low-to-intermediate risk localized prostate cancer. Although improvements in time to radical treatment and negative biopsy rates were observed, statistical significance was not achieved. The safety profile across both trials remained consistent.

Candel's clinical achievements and the current public offering underline its commitment to advancing cancer immunotherapy options for patients.

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