Combined company to operate as Candid Therapeutics, advancing a leading portfolio of T-cell engager therapeutics for autoimmune diseases
Concurrent significantly oversubscribed and upsized financing of over $505 million committed by a syndicate of leading healthcare institutional investors and mutual funds expected to fund operations through 2030
Companies to hold joint conference call on March 2, 2026 at 8:30 AM ET
NEW HAVEN, Conn. and San Diego, CA, March 2, 2026 — Rallybio Corporation (Nasdaq: RLYB) (“Rallybio”) and Candid Therapeutics, Inc. (“Candid”), a global clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a leading portfolio of T-cell engager (“TCE”) therapeutics for autoimmune diseases, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Rallybio will acquire Candid through a merger transaction (the “Merger”). Upon completion of the Merger, the combined company expects to operate under the name Candid Therapeutics, Inc. and trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “CDRX”.
In connection with the Merger, Candid entered into subscription agreements for a concurrent oversubscribed and upsized private financing of over $505 million in gross proceeds (the “Financing” and, together with the Merger, the “Transaction”) with a syndicate of leading healthcare institutional investors and mutual funds, including Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners, RA Capital Management, Janus Henderson Investors, accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., venBio Partners, Viking Global Investors, Cormorant Asset Management, Foresite Capital, Soleus Capital, TCGX, Vivo Capital, a life sciences focused institutional investor, several additional mutual funds and other institutional investors. The combined company’s cash balance at closing is expected to fund operations through 2030, supporting the advancement of Candid’s diversified pipeline of TCE programs through multiple clinical milestones, including the initiation and clinical readouts of Phase 2 studies for cizutamig, a B-cell maturation antigen (“BCMA”) targeting TCE, in myasthenia gravis and interstitial lung disease (“ILD”) secondary to rheumatological diseases.
The Transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and is expected to close in mid-2026, subject to certain closing conditions, including the approval by the stockholders of each company, the effectiveness of a registration statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to register the shares of Rallybio common stock to be issued in connection with the Transaction, the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Following closing, pre-Transaction Rallybio equityholders are expected to own approximately 3.65% of the combined company, and pre-Transaction Candid equityholders (inclusive of investors participating in the Financing) are expected to own approximately 96.35% of the combined company, calculated on a treasury stock method basis and assuming Rallybio has net cash at closing of $37.5 million. In addition, pre-closing Rallybio stockholders will receive contingent value rights (“CVRs”) entitling them to a portion of certain cash proceeds received by the combined company from its previously announced sale of interests in REV102 and potential disposition of Rallybio’s other legacy assets.