Candel Therapeutics, Inc. announced a collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to study the impact of novel viral immunotherapies based on Candel's proprietary enLIGHTEN(TM) Discovery Platform to strengthen the effects of Penn's CAR-T cell therapies in solid tumor models. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) vectors containing selected transgenes based on Candel's enLIGHTEN Discovery Platform will be evaluated in combination with investigational CAR-T cell therapies in tumor models. Penn's work on the research project will be headed by Neil Sheppard, DPhil, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine who serves as Director of the T Cell Engineering Lab, part of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, which is led by Carl H. June, MD, the Richard W. Vague Professor of Immunotherapy at Penn.

Under the terms of the agreement, the parties will collaborate to use novel engineered viruses that break down barriers to CAR-T therapies and to evaluate the effects of these combinations in tumor models. The two parties will retain full ownership of their existing intellectual property and retain rights to proceed towards clinical trials to study the impact of these combinations in clinical trials. "We are delighted to establish this discovery partnership with Penn as a first step towards evaluating the impact of innovative viral immunotherapies in combination with CAR-T cells with the aim of modulating the tumor microenvironment in such a way that CAR-T cells can get into the solid tumor, stay functional, and eliminate tumor cells.