Sellas shares jump 17% after promising Phase 3 AML results due this month

what happened

Shares of Sellas Life Sciences (SLS) rose 17% in after-hours trading on Thursday, after the company said key results from its leukemia trial are expected this month. According to Stocktwits, the stock had fallen nearly 5% earlier in the session and was on track for a third straight weekly decline.

The update concerns the Phase 3 REGAL trial of Galinpepimut-S (GPS) in acute myeloid leukemia, where the drug is tested as maintenance therapy for patients who have returned to remission. The main goal is to see whether GPS extends patient survival. The timeline has narrowed, as the company had previously guided to the fourth quarter. CEO Angelos Stergiou said GPS could become a “transformative” immunotherapy if the trial succeeds.

The company also said that 40 of the planned 80 patients have been enrolled in a Phase 2 study of its second drug, Tambiciclib (SLS009), with results to be presented on December 14 at the ASH meeting. Cash stood at $134.7 million at the end of September, while the third-quarter net loss widened to $10.1 million.

why it matters

For the market, this is a story about one small biotech company with high risk. Waiting for Phase 3 results typically brings sharp price swings, and the outcome will determine whether Sellas moves toward seeking approval for GPS. The results are not yet known, so the stock remains highly sensitive to news.

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