Candid Therapeutics and Ab Studio Enter Into Research Collaboration to Discover and Develop Novel T Cell Engagers for Autoimmune Indications

SAN DIEGO & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Candid Therapeutics, Inc. (“Candid”), a clinical stage biotechnology company positioned to lead the development of T cell engagers for autoimmune diseases and Ab Studio, Inc. (“Ab Studio”), a US biotech focused on the discovery of novel antibodies via computer-aided design, announced that the companies have entered a strategic research collaboration to discover and develop novel T Cell Engager program candidates for various autoimmune indications.

“Ab Studio has a promising platform for antibody design and engineering. One of our clinical stage programs, CND261 was originally designed by Ab Studio. We are excited to partner with Dr. Yue Liu and team to potentially discover and advance novel program candidates for autoimmune indications,” said Dr. Ken Song, Chairman, President and CEO of Candid.

“We are excited to partner with Candid, a leading biotechnology company,” said Dr. Yue Liu. “We have built a comprehensive toolkit for antibody discovery and engineering and are looking forward to accelerate the preclinical efforts of Candid and delivering innovative programs to help patients around the globe.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Ab Studio will receive undisclosed payments. Candid has exclusive rights to develop and commercialize programs discovered under the collaboration.

About Candid Therapeutics, Inc.

Candid Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on becoming the leader in advancing T-cell engagers for B-cell depletion to treat autoimmune diseases. Candid is advancing two lead B-cell depleting TCE antibody drug candidates, with a goal to broadly explore the potential of TCEs across multiple autoimmune diseases by targeting different B-cell protein targets, as well as evaluating different depths of B-cell depletion. Established in 2024 and headquartered in San Diego, CA, Candid is led by a team of entrepreneurial executives who have a track record of advancing programs into and through development and is supported by a distinguished syndicate of premier life science investors.

About Ab Studio, Inc.

Ab Studio, Inc. (www.antibodystudio.com) is a biotech company located in the San Francisco Bay Area, USA. Ab Studio combines computer-aided antibody design (CAAD) with conventional antibody discovery approaches to develop novel complex therapeutic antibodies with superior safety, efficacy, and manufacturability features, targeting difficult-to-treat diseases including cancer, infectious, and CNS diseases. Utilizing this approach, Ab Studio has developed several novel technology platforms including: 1) Fc enabled T cell engager 2) "Imbalanced" bispecific antibody 3) "Serial" internalization antibody and 4) "Catalytic" antibody. Ab Studio's vision is "quality by design", devoting to successful development of therapeutic antibodies against human diseases with unmet clinical needs via partnership