Candel Therapeutics, Inc. announced the appointment of Martine Zimmermann, Pharm.D., to its Board of Directors, effective September 8, 2026. The appointment fills a vacancy created by an expansion of the Board from ten to eleven directors. Dr. Zimmermann has been designated as an independent director and will serve on the Class III slate, with terms expiring at the 2027 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Dr. Zimmermann brings over 30 years of experience in regulatory affairs and quality. She currently serves as Executive Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs, Quality and Alliance Management at Inventiva S.A. Her previous roles include Senior Vice President and Head of Global Regulatory Affairs at Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals and senior leadership positions at Alexion Pharma International, where she spent more than 13 years. She has also served as a director for Ligand Pharmaceuticals and previously for Caelum Biosciences and Inventiva S.A.
Regarding compensation, Dr. Zimmermann will receive an option to purchase 64,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, which will vest in equal monthly installments over three years. Additionally, she will receive an annual retainer of $40,000, paid quarterly in arrears and pro-rated based on the number of days served during the quarter. She has entered into the Company’s standard indemnification agreement.
Company leadership highlighted that Dr. Zimmermann’s expertise is timely as Candel advances toward a planned submission of the Biologics License Application (BLA) for its lead candidate, aglatimagene besadenovec, in the fourth quarter of 2026. Aglatimagene besadenovec is a multimodal biological immunotherapy designed to deliver the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene to tumors. The Company noted that more than 1,000 patients have been dosed with the candidate in clinical trials to date.
