SLS Stock Logs Worst Week In Over A Month: Retail Bulls Bet ASH Embargo Is Keeping Regal Results Under Wraps

• Some retail bulls speculated that an ASH embargo could be keeping Regal trial results under wraps.
• Regal requires 80 deaths to trigger final analysis and Sellas’s last disclosed count was 78.
• ASH’s regular abstracts are released on Nov.4 and late-breaking abstracts on Dec.7.

Shares of Sellas Life Sciences (SLS) shares logged their worst week in over a month as some retail investors speculated that its key Regal trial results could be under wraps ahead of a major hematology conference.

SLS stock closed Friday at $9.98 after tumbling nearly 12%, extending its losing streak to three sessions. Shares also ended the week 14% lower, logging their worst week in over a month.

ASH Plans Put Regal In The Spotlight

The American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) annual meeting in New Orleans has now become a focus for investors looking for clues about Sellas’s next clinical update. The company is listed at Booth 138, a 600-square-foot space beside the poster area in Hall G. Eli Lilly, Takeda, Genentech and AstraZeneca also have exhibits in the hall, placing Sellas among major pharma companies at the blood-disease conference. 

The attention comes as Sellas approaches a key milestone for Galinpepimut-S (GPS), its immunotherapy targeting the WT1 protein. Regal is testing GPS in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients who achieved a second remission following salvage treatment.

The study requires 80 deaths to trigger its final analysis. Sellas’s last disclosed count was 78, and the company has said it will announce when the threshold is reached. Database lock and blinded review must then precede statistical analysis, unblinding and topline disclosure. 

SLS Bulls Pin Hopes On An ASH Reveal

On Stocktwits, sentiment for SLS jumped to “bullish” from ‘neutral’ levels a week ago amid ‘high’ message volumes.

One user said they believed the company’s silence reflected ASH embargo restrictions and suggested that Regal results could emerge with the conference’s regular abstract release. The user treated the booth commitment as a sign of confidence, asking, “Do you believe SLS would secure a 600sq ft booth at the largest cancer conference of the year in order to release bad results? I do not.”

Another user questioned whether Sellas could prepare a late-breaking submission if Regal had not yet reached its final event threshold: “If 80 event didn’t happen yet, it’s highly unlikely they will be in time to submit Topline for late breaking abstracts.” 

A separate user played down the significance of the booth, noting that hundreds of companies exhibit at ASH and adding that the 80th Regal event remained the milestone to watch.

ASH’s policy states that regular abstract data remain under embargo until Nov.4, while late-breaking abstracts are restricted until Dec.7. Additional findings generally remain embargoed until the relevant presentation or poster session. Companies can request exceptions to release limited topline data when required by securities laws.

SLS009 Adds A Second Data Watch

Sellas is also advancing SLS009, a selective CDK9 inhibitor, with topline data expected in the fourth quarter from an 80-patient Phase 2 trial in newly diagnosed AML. The study includes patients whose disease becomes resistant early to Azacitidine and Venetoclax. 

The company is exploring the drug’s potential beyond leukemia as well. In a lab pancreatic-cancer model resistant to Daraxonrasib, SLS009 produced 17.9% apoptosis, or programmed cell death, compared with 2.8% for Daraxonrasib alone. Combining the treatments raised apoptosis to 36.5% and necrosis to 30.6%.

SLS stock has jumped 165% year-to-date.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Read Next: Stocktwits Pharma Pulse: Moderna-Merck Cancer Vaccine Grabs Spotlight As Kidney-Cancer And MS Data Pour In