SLS, IBRX Stocks Draw Investor Attention With Major Cancer Conferences And New Drug Data On Deck

ImmunityBio is attending major conferences in Seoul and New York, followed by several oncology events through November.

• Sellas will present three preclinical SLS009 pancreatic-cancer studies at the AACR conference from Sept.25 to Sept.28.
• The studies will examine SLS009 alone and alongside drugs targeting BET proteins and the KRAS G12D mutation.
• Anktiva data cited in a patent filing showed promising survival figures in lung and pancreatic cancer.

Sellas Life Sciences (SLS) and ImmunityBio (IBRX) are drawing retail-investor attention this week as the cancer-focused biotech firms enter busy conference schedules that could offer fresh insights into their drug pipelines.

Last week, IBRX shares fell 2%, while SLS tumbled 17%. In premarket trading on Monday, IBRX fell 0.5% and SLS declined 1.7%.

Sellas Takes SLS009 Into Pancreatic Cancer

Sellas will present three posters evaluating SLS009, also known as Tambiciclib, at the American Association for Cancer Research Conference on Pancreatic Cancer in San Diego from Sept.25 through Sept.28.

Conducted with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, the studies examine SLS009 in patient-derived models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, one of the most difficult solid tumors to treat. The presentations will examine whether SLS009 can block CDK9 to exploit weaknesses in pancreatic tumors driven by the MYC protein. Researchers will also test SLS009 alongside drugs targeting BET proteins and the cancer-linked KRAS G12D mutation. 

“The acceptance of three abstracts evaluating SLS009 across patient-derived organoid models reflects the breadth of our preclinical work in PDAC,” Sellas CEO Angelos Stergiou said. He added that the findings could support SLS009’s further development in solid tumors.

SLS Investors Await Regal Results 

Investor attention remains centered on Sellas’ Phase 3 Regal trial of Galinpepimut-S (GPS) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who achieved complete remission following second-line salvage therapy.

The event-driven study has recorded 78 of the 80 deaths required to trigger its final analysis. After the final event, Sellas will lock the database, conduct its blinded review and statistical analysis, and unblind the study before releasing topline results. Sellas has said the trial would be considered successful if GPS extends median overall survival to 12.6 months, compared with eight months for the control treatment.

ImmunityBio Begins Packed Conference Run

ImmunityBio is attending the World Conference on Lung Cancer in Seoul from Sept.12 through Sept.15 and the H.C. Wainwright Global Investment Conference in New York from Sept.14 through Sept.16.

The appearances begin a broader conference run that includes the Thoracic Rare Cancer Symposium on Oct.2, the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting from Oct.23 through Oct.27 and several oncology and healthcare events in November.

The conference schedule follows a patent application covering the use of Anktiva to restore natural killer and T cells, which are key immune cells that can be depleted by chemotherapy, radiation and checkpoint inhibitors.

Phase 2 data cited in the filing showed median survival of 21.1 months among lung-cancer patients with milder immune-cell depletion, compared with 11.5 months for those with more severe depletion. In the Quilt-88 pancreatic-cancer study, median survival was 5.8 months. It reached 7.9 months in a subgroup whose immune-cell levels recovered and who received more than five treatment cycles. 

How Do Retail Traders Feel About IBRX And SLS?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SLS was ‘bearish’ amid ‘low’ message volume, while sentiment around IBRX was ‘neutral’ amid ‘normal’ message volume. 

One SLS user highlighted the preclinical data on SLS009 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, while another noted that “CDK9 is expanding into pancreatic cancer.” A third user pointed to a potential “full abstract data release for SLS009.” 

On IBRX, one user said that ImmunityBio was at the lung-cancer conference and “they have a booth,” while another suggested that there could be “possible updates on trial at Korean conference.”

Over the past year, SLS and IBRX shares have surged 511% and 205%, respectively. 

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