Sellas Life (SLS) Falls 13% as Firm Still Mum on ALM Drug Candidate

Sellas Life (SLS) Falls 13% as Firm Still Mum on ALM Drug Candidate

Angelica Ballesteros

Sat, August 29, 2026 at 6:16 AM GMT+3 3 min read

• SLS -13.15%

Sellas Life Sciences (NASDAQ:SLS) saw its share price decline by 13.15 percent on Friday to close at $13.21 apiece, as investors turned increasingly concerned about the company's silence about its treatment candidate for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

The drop was triggered by a report from a Germany-based news site that the company has already hit the 80th patient death—a pre-specified event that is supposed to trigger the results of its phase 3 clinical trial for Galinpepimut-S (GPS)—and yet the listed firm remained mum about the report.

Based on its latest update on August 11, the study had reached its 78th patient death, suggesting the long-awaited readout could be approaching soon.

For illustration purposes only. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels

Wider Q2 Losses

Clinical trial aside, Sellas Life Sciences (NASDAQ:SLS) widened its net loss in the second quarter of the year by 45.5 percent to $9.6 million from $6.6 million in the same period last year.

Operating expenses increased by 54 percent to $10.6 million from $6.87 million year-on-year.

Sellas Life Sciences (NASDAQ:SLS) is a pre-revenue company, which means that it has yet to incur revenues from its operations.

Takeover Hint

Also last month, the company hinted at a potential takeover, following its amendment of employment and severance agreements with three of its executive members, namely President and CEO Angelos Stergiou, Chief Financial Officer John Burns, and Chief Development Officer Dragan Cicic.

Under the agreement, the three would receive lump-sum payment benefits in case of a "change of control."

Specifically, Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SLS) said that Burns and Cicic are set to receive lump-sum payments equal to 15 months of their base salary, target bonus for the year of termination, and immediate vesting of unvested shares, among others, in case they are not retained by a new owner.

While it did not specifically announce any sale plans, investors interpreted the new employment arrangements as a hint of a potential takeover.

Strong Hedge Fund Positioning

Institutional investors appeared to be optimistic about their long-term growth prospects for Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SLS).

Data from Insider Monkey showed that in the second quarter of the year, 13 hedge funds held positions in the company, unchanged from the previous quarter.

However, their combined holdings soared by 490 percent to $79.7 million from $13.49 million quarter-on-quarter, signaling that existing investors are committing larger capital in anticipation of a pipeline breakthrough.

While we acknowledge the potential of SLS as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on thebest short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and Cathie Wood 2026 Portfolio: 10 Best Stocks to Buy.

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.