Candel Therapeutics Secures $100M Royalty Funding from RTW for Prostate Cancer Therapy

Candel Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: CADL), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing multimodal biological immunotherapies to help patients fight cancer, announced a $100 million royalty funding agreement with funds managed by RTW Investments, LP, subject to FDA approval of aglatimagene besadenovec (CAN-2409) in intermediate- to high-risk, localized prostate cancer. The agreement was entered into on February 19, 2026.

Under the terms of the purchase and sale agreement, RTW will receive a tiered single digit percentage of annual net sales of aglatimagene in the U.S., subject to a cap. Specifically, the purchaser will be entitled to a 4.67% royalty on the portion of annual net sales in the United States that is less than or equal to $1 billion, and a 1.33% royalty on the portion of annual net sales in the United States exceeding $1 billion. The 4.67% tier will increase to 6.67% if annual net sales do not achieve certain specified levels, subject to a cure opportunity by the Company.

The royalty payments become payable following the first commercial sale of the Product in the United States and end upon the purchaser's receipt of $250 million in royalty payments. The commercial launch royalty financing will become available upon FDA's approval of aglatimagene, and satisfaction of certain other customary conditions.

The President and CEO of Candel stated that this non-dilutive strategic financing will support the U.S. launch of aglatimagene besadenovec, assuming FDA approval, and will allow the company to further invest in what they believe will be a world class commercial program. The company remains on track to submit the BLA for aglatimagene in Q4 of this year, and looks forward to collaborating with the FDA to pursue an expeditious approval of aglatimagene.

If the Company undergoes a change of control with, or sells the Product and all of the Product rights to, a third party, the Purchase Agreement provides the Company and the Purchaser with an option for the Company to pay certain specified amounts to terminate the Purchase Agreement, depending upon the timing for such transaction, up to the Royalty Cap.

The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including that FDA Approval must occur by a specified date, conditions related to the Company's indebtedness and other customary closing conditions. The Purchase Agreement also contains customary representations, warranties and indemnities on the part of the Company and the Purchaser and customary covenants on the part of the Company, including around the Company's indebtedness as well as licensing and other activities related to the Product and Product rights.

Aglatimagene besadenovec (CAN-2409 or aglatimagene) is the lead product candidate from the adenovirus platform. The Company recently completed successful phase 2a clinical trials of aglatimagene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and a pivotal, placebo-controlled, phase 3 clinical trial of aglatimagene in localized prostate cancer, conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment agreed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA also granted Fast Track Designation and Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy Designation to aglatimagene for the treatment of newly diagnosed localized prostate cancer in patients with intermediate-to-high-risk disease, Fast Track Designation in NSCLC, and both Fast Track Designation and Orphan Drug Designation to aglatimagene for the treatment of PDAC.