Lyell Immunopharma, a US-based immunotherapy developer backed by pharmaceutical firms GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Celgene, filed for a $150m initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Market on Tuesday.
Founded in 2018, Lyell is developing immunotherapies for cancer patients that are intended to prevent T cells, a critical component of the immune system, from becoming dysfunctional. Its lead drug candidate, LYL797, is being developed to treat non-small cell lung cancer and triple-negative breast cancer.
In October 2019, the company sealed a five-year collaboration partnership with GSK to support their work in developing cell therapies for cancer patients. GSK will also access Lyell’s genetic reprogramming and epigenetic reprogramming technology platforms.
The proceeds of the IPO will be used to advance LYL797 and LYL845, a prospective treatment for multiple solid tumours, into clinical trials. Lyell had raised $493m of series C financing in March 2020.
GSK said in its 2019 annual report, published in March 2020, it deployed £258m ($320m) through equity investments that year, primarily relating to Lyell. It also disclosed it held a 15% stake in the company with a fair value of about $203m as of the end of 2019.
The company had previously closed a $179m series A round in February 2019 led by venture capital firm Arch Venture Partners that included Foresite Capital and a vehicle known as Gemini Investments, according to the IPO filing.
Gemini Investments provided $100m of a $162m series B round completed three months later. GSK’s equity investment was made in July 2019 and sized at $205m, the filing stated.
The corporate was not part of the $493m series C round disclosed the same month, according to the filing. It did include $200m from an entity called Milky Way Investments Group and $10m each from Arch Venture Partners and Foresite Capital.
Arch Venture Partners is the largest Lyell shareholder, with a 16.7% stake, followed by GSK, which owns 13.9%, Milky Way Investments Group (8%), Gemini Investments (7%), Foresite Capital (6.1%), Celgene and Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (5% each).
Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley have been appointed as underwriters for the IPO.