SELLAS Life Sciences (NASDAQ:SLS) is a small company, and the biopharmaceutical company typically flies under the radar. However, thanks to some news yesterday in the biopharma space, SLS stock is racing higher. So what was that news? And what else do you need to know?
To start, what exactly is SELLAS Life Sciences? Well, the company calls itself a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company. This means its pipeline products are still undergoing clinical trials, but its leading candidate is making its way through Phase 3. Importantly, SELLAS Life Sciences focuses on developing cancer immunotherapies for a broad range of diseases.
Also importantly, its leading candidate is Galinpepimut-S. What does this therapy do? According to SELLAS Life Sciences, this immunotherapy targets the Wilms Tumor 1, which is the leading cancer antigen. Essentially, the company believes that this therapy, which is given via vaccine, reduces the immune response in a patient and has the ability to delay the relapse of cancer. Although SELLAS Life Sciences is testing it for a variety of cancers, it is currently in Phase 3 trials for acute myeloid leukemia.
This lead candidate is where the massive move in SLS stock comes from.
Importantly, SELLAS Life Sciences had some big news of its own earlier this week. While its leading immunotherapy candidate remains in clinical trials, it entered a license agreement with China-based 3D Medicines. Through this deal, 3D Medicines will handle developing and commercializing Galinpepimut-S in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. According to a company press release, this could net $202 million in license fees for SELLAS. It also could bring an upfront payment of $7.5 million sometime this quarter.
Although this news is exciting, there is another catalyst behind SLS stock.
WHY SLS Stock Is Surging Thursday
On Thursday, it looks like another company is responsible for the move in SLS stock.
What do I mean? Well, yesterday saw a major rally in Greenwich LifeSciences (NASDAQ:GLSI). Ahead of a conference, the company shared promising Phase 2b data on its breast cancer immunotherapy. Importantly, Greenwich LifeSciences is evaluating GP2 as a therapy for patients who have already undergone surgery for breast cancer. And according to the report yesterday, GP2 has reduced the recurrence rate of cancer in trial participants to 0%.
How does this tie into SELLAS Life Sciences? Well, GP2 and Galinpepimut-S are both unique immunotherapies that rely on vaccination as a delivery method. Essentially, both treatments are cancer vaccines. Both treatments are also quite innovative, representing potential advancements in the realm of cancer care. This means that with a more than 2,000% rally from GLSI stock, many investors may be rooting for the same with SLS.
Remember though, this is a tiny company that must continue to navigate clinical trials. Keep an eye on SLS stock, but proceed with caution.
On the date of publication, Sarah Smith did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Sarah Smith is a Web Content Producer with InvestorPlace.com.
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