Lyell Immunopharma Secures Promising CAR-T Therapy for Colorectal Cancer in $185M Deal

Lyell Immunopharma has made a significant move in the CAR-T therapy space, acquiring rights to a promising phase 1-stage treatment for colorectal cancer. The deal, valued at up to $185 million, marks a potential breakthrough in solid tumor treatment using CAR-T cell therapy.

Acquisition Details and Financial Terms

Lyell has entered into a licensing agreement with Innovative Cellular Therapeutics (ICT) for the rights to LYL273, formerly known as GCC19CART. The deal includes an upfront payment of $40 million in cash and approximately 1.9 million Lyell shares, valued at around $33 million based on recent trading prices.

The agreement also outlines potential future payments, including:

• A $30 million clinical milestone payment
• $115 million and an additional 1.85 million Lyell shares upon achieving late-stage regulatory milestones
• Up to $675 million in commercial sales milestones
• Tiered royalties on potential future sales

Promising Clinical Results

The acquisition was driven by impressive phase 1 trial results in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. Key findings include:

• 67% overall response rate
• 83% disease control rate
• Median progression-free survival of 7.8 months at the highest dose tested

LYL273 targets cancers expressing the guanylyl cyclase-C (GCC) protein receptor, which is present in over 95% of colorectal cancers and a majority of pancreatic adenocarcinomas.

Dr. Benjamin L. Schlechter, lead investigator on the phase 1 study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, noted, "We rarely see such deep and durable responses in colorectal cancer patients treated with multiple prior lines of chemotherapy."

Safety Considerations and Future Outlook

While the clinical results are promising, safety concerns were observed in the trial. Five out of six patients receiving the higher dose experienced cytokine release syndrome and diarrhea. One patient experienced a dose-limiting toxicity, including grade 3 diarrhea and grade 4 intestinal inflammation, ultimately resulting in death from fungal sepsis 48 days post-infusion.

However, Lyell emphasized that no grade 3 or higher diarrhea had occurred in the last three patients treated with the higher dose since implementing an optimized management protocol, including prophylaxis.

Lyell CEO Lynn Seely, M.D., expressed optimism about the therapy's potential, stating, "We believe LYL273 has the potential to be a transformational advance in the treatment of colorectal cancer, an area of tremendous unmet need."

The acquisition of LYL273 complements Lyell's existing pipeline, which includes rondecabtagene autoleucel, an autologous dual-targeting CD19/CD20 therapy currently in phase 3 trials for aggressive large B-cell lymphoma.