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How far can curiosity take you when you’re not afraid of the unknown? For today’s guest, Francesca Barone, it led her across continents and disciplines as she navigated her way to the forefront of cancer immunotherapy. Francesca is the Chief Scientific Officer at Candel Therapeutics, and on this episode of Impactful Breakthroughs she speaks with Zach Gobst about how Candel is developing multimodal biological immunotherapies to help patients fight cancer.
Francesca shares the driving force, her “backpack theory,” behind the journey she’s taken. Rather than settling into comfort, she believes every few years you should pack up what you've learned and head toward a new challenge entirely. It’s a belief that has carried her from academic rheumatology to leading cutting-edge oncology drug development, navigating language barriers, cultural shifts, and an industry that wasn't yet ready to believe in what her team was building.
She also shares what it took to push Candel's novel intratumoral delivery approach through years of skepticism, why her physician background has been her greatest superpower in biotech, and what it really means to keep patients at the center even when your work may feel far removed. Behind every compassionate use request, every data point, and every clinical trial, there is a patient and a family. And for Francesca, that's always been reason enough to keep going.
Timestamps
00:00 Episode Start
01:45 Why Francesca moved from academia to biotech
03:55 The power of stretching beyond your comfort zone
09:30 You're only as good as your team
10:15 Candel's novel approach to fighting cancer
13:35 Overcoming skepticism and remaining committed
17:05 The human side of drug development
19:20 A patient stories that say it all
23:25 Mentors who shaped Francesca’s journey
29:30 Closing reflections on purpose and impact
Key Takeaways
- Explore curiosity throughout your career. Francesca's guiding philosophy is simple: every few years, pack up what you know and head somewhere new. The discomfort of starting over in a new field, a new country, or a new challenge is exactly where the best growth happens.
- Patients are better at designing trials than we are. When patients are truly embedded in your drug development process, you avoid mistakes you wouldn't have seen coming. Assuming you already know what will serve patients best is a trap that leads science in the wrong direction
- Find your conviction. Candel's intratumoral delivery was once met with investor skepticism and industry doubt. Now major pharma companies are building similar programs. Believing in your data when others don't is part of the job.
- Steady leadership is contagious. Francesca credits Candel CEO Paul Peter Tak with modeling a calm, thoughtful leadership style that she has worked to channel in herself, particularly in turbulent moments. In science and life, the ability to stay grounded in a storm makes everyone around you steadier too.
Guest Shoutouts
- Guido Valesini, Professor of Rheumatology at Sapienza University of Rome
- Christopher Buckley, Kennedy Trust Feldmann Maini Professor of Translational Medicine at University of Oxford
- Paul Peter Tak, President, CEO, and Board Director of Candel Therapeutics
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