SLS Stock Sparks Retail Buzz Ahead of AACR Presentation On Experimental Cancer Therapy

• Last month, the company said that SLS009 blocks key survival pathways that normally shield acute myeloid leukemia cells from natural programmed cell death, making them more vulnerable.
• Pharmacodynamic changes were observed in AML cells as early as eight hours after treatment and became more pronounced over time, the company noted.
• Meanwhile, Sellas’s late-stage trial of its lead candidate GPS in Acute Myeloid Leukemia is advancing toward final analysis.

Shares of Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc. (SLS) closed up 6% and edged up 2% after-hours on Friday, garnering heavy retail interest as investors anticipated upcoming data updates on its pipeline at the American Association for Cancer Research.

According to Stocktwits platform data, retail chatter increased 36% over the past day, rising from ‘low’ to ‘normal’ levels.

Sellas is slated to present preclinical data on its experimental cancer therapy SLS009 in a poster session at the conference which started on April 17 and is slated to go till April 22 at the San Diego Convention Center. Sellas will make its presentation on April 21.

Pipeline Optimism

Last month, the company said that SLS009 blocks key survival pathways that normally shield acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells from natural programmed cell death, making them more vulnerable. Pharmacodynamic changes were observed in AML cells as early as eight hours after treatment and became more pronounced over time, the company noted.

“The ability to lower apoptotic threshold in AML cells by suppressing key survival pathways and enhancing potency with repeated exposure further supports the development of SLS009, including in combination regimens,” said Dragan Cicic, Chief Development Officer of SELLAS.

Sellas’s lead candidate, GPS, meanwhile, is being evaluated for its potential as a monotherapy and in combination with other therapies to address a broad spectrum of blood malignancies and solid tumor indications.

The company’s late-stage trial of GPS in Acute Myeloid Leukemia is advancing toward final analysis. The final analysis is slated for when the company records the 80th patient death in the trial. In December, the company announced that 72 events had been completed and it will announce when the 80th event occurs. With event-driven trials like Sellas’s, the delay highlights longer survival, indicating potential for the therapy.

How Did Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SLS stock rose from ‘bearish’ to ‘neutral’ territory over the past 24 hours.

A Stocktwits user said that the stock has two near-term catalysts in terms of the upcoming conference and update on the GPS program in AML.

Yet another sounded optimistic for the company’s pipeline, highlighting the many designations granted to Sellas’s experimental therapies.

SLS stock has nearly quadrupled over the past 12 months. 

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