What happened
Shares of Lyell Immunopharma (LYEL -1.36%) were up 39% for the week as of early Friday morning, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The clinical-stage biotech, which ended last week's trading at $2.78, rose to as high as $3.97 early Friday. The stock is up more than 10% so far this year.
So what
Lyell Immunopharma did a presentation this week regarding its pipeline at the Goldman Sachs 44th Annual Global Healthcare Conference in Dana Point, California. That presentation discussed its lead candidate, LYL797, a ROR1 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy to treat solid tumors. The theory is that by targeting ROR1, an antigen expressed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and several types of solid tumors, LYL797 could be more effective than current CAR-T cell therapies are against solid tumors, such as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Lyell asserted that its therapy could overcome the barriers of T-cell exhaustion and lack of durable stemness in T-cells.
Now what
LYL797 is being tested in early-stage trials as a treatment for NSCLC and TNBC. The only other therapy the company has in clinical trials is LYL845, a tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte that is being looked at as a treatment for patients with relapsed and/or refractory metastatic or locally advanced melanoma, as well as NSCLC and colorectal cancer.
Lyell Immunopharma is a long way from being a commercial company, so this stock is most suitable as a long-term investment for investors who are not risk-averse. In the first quarter, the company said it had revenue of $100,000 and lost $67 million. It also reported that it had $668 million in cash on the books, enough to fund its operations into 2026.