The pullback from ROR1 and TILs continues

After disappointing on the promise of its huge flotation Lyell has found a new business to which it can pivot: the private cell therapy player ImmPACT Bio, acquired on Thursday for $30m plus about $40m in Lyell stock. The move draws a line under Lyell’s two setbacks, one in ROR1 Car-T and the other in TIL therapy, with both assets, LYL797 and LYL845 respectively, now discontinued. LYL797’s scrapping follows a death due to pneumonitis reported in phase 1, though Lyell still has the follow-on anti-ROR1 Car-T project LYL119 in preclinical trials; another ROR1 player, Oncternal, recently ended all clinical activity and put itself up for sale after seeing a death on a phase 1/2 study of its Car-T project ONCT-808. With LYL845's termination Lyell joins Instil Bio, Achilles Therapeutics and Turnstone Biologics in pulling back from TILs (tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes). In 2021 Lyell’s IPO raised $425m, but since then the stock has lost 94% of its value. ImmPACT brings the clinical project IMPT-314, a Car against the relatively unexciting targets CD19 and CD20, and investors so far don't view the acquisition as money well spent: Lyell stock was off 16% in early trade on Friday.

What's in at Lyell, and what's out

Note: *ImmPACT was also developing a CD19/CD20 Car coded IMPT-514 for autoimmune conditions. Source: OncologyPipeline.