On June 12, 2026 Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LYEL), a late-stage clinical company advancing a pipeline of next-generation chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for patients with cancer, reported new safety data from the ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of rondecabtagene autoleucel (ronde-cel) in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) in the second-line (2L) and third- and later-line (3L+) settings and new translational data for ronde-cel. The new data will be presented today in two poster presentations at the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) 2026 Congress in Stockholm, Sweden.

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"The clinical data presented today reinforce the differentiated profile of ronde-cel in more than 100 patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma," said Lynn Seely, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Lyell. "The updated safety profile, with no Grade 3 or higher CRS and low rates of Grade 3 or higher ICANS, supports outpatient administration. The translational data extend our understanding of ronde-cel’s durable clinical responses. Our data indicate they are achieved through next-generation dual-antigen targeting and production of CD62L-enriched CAR T-cells with enhanced memory phenotype."

Low-Grade CRS and ICANS with Rondecabtagene Autoleucel, a Dual-Targeting CD19/CD20 CAR T-Cell Product Candidate, in Patients with Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Updated Safety Analysis (Poster: PF962)

A total of 108 patients with R/R LBCL (43 2L and 65 3L+) were treated with ronde-cel in the ongoing Phase 1/2 trial as of the data cutoff date of May 5, 2026. The population reflected high-risk disease: median age 64 years (range, 20 to 87), 67% (72/108) with primary refractory disease, and 28% (30/108) had an International Prognostic Index score of 3 or 4. Of the patients treated, 59% (64/108) received dexamethasone prophylaxis, 10 mg daily for three days at the time of CAR T-cell administration.

Key Safety Findings:

Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS): There were no reports of Grade ≥ 3 events in patients treated with or without dexamethasone prophylaxis. Grade 1 CRS events were reported in 56% (36/64) and Grade 2 in 13% (8/64) of patients receiving prophylaxis, compared with cases of Grade 1 CRS reported in 30% (13/44) or Grade 2 in 39% (17/44) of patients who did not receive prophylaxis.
Immune Effector Cell-Associated Neurotoxicity Syndrome (ICANS): Grade ≥ 3 events of ICANS occurred in 8% (5/64) of patients receiving prophylaxis vs. 16% (7/44) of patients who did not receive prophylaxis. Grade 1 events were reported in 6% (4/64) and Grade 2 in 2% (1/64) of patients receiving prophylaxis vs. 11% (5/44) or 5% (2/44) who did not receive prophylaxis.
With over 100 patients treated, ronde-cel continues to show a consistent and manageable safety profile, supporting the potential for outpatient administration. Notably, dexamethasone prophylaxis did not change ronde-cel cell expansion and pharmacokinetics. Manufacturing has also proven reliable to date, with a 97% success rate across these patients.

Durable Responses with Rondecabtagene Autoleucel (Dual-Targeting CD19/CD20 CAR
T-Cells) Are Associated with Higher Proportion of Cytotoxic T Cells with Memory Potential in Infusion Products (Poster: PF1097)

The purpose of this study was to explore the roles of CD62L+ enrichment and CD19/CD20
dual-targeting in ronde-cel infusion products on clinical response observed in patients with R/R LBCL.

Single-cell RNA sequencing was conducted on ronde-cel infusion products to assess memory potential of cytotoxic effector cells compared to FDA-approved CD19 CAR T-cell therapies. Cluster analysis identified a population of cytotoxic effector cells (defined by high GZMB, IFNG, CCL4, CCL5, KLRD1 gene expression) that had higher expression of memory-associated genes (CD62L, IL7R, LEF1) compared to an analogous cytotoxic cluster from FDA-approved CD19 CAR T-cell therapies. These cells co-expressing cytotoxic genes and memory-associated genes are referred to as Cytotoxic T cells with Memory Potential (Tcmp) in this study.

Key Translational Findings:

Tcmp cells were more abundant in the ronde-cel products of patients with durable responses (>12 months) than in patients with progressive disease
Ronde-cel drug product Tcmp cells have a stronger memory potential compared to
axicabtagene ciloleucel’s cytotoxic effector cells
Ronde-cel Tcmp cells following CD62L enrichment also had higher survival and expansion in vitro compared to cytotoxic effector cells with CD4/CD8 enrichment.
Ronde-cel CAR+ T cells collected from patients two months after infusion sustained the capacity to proliferate, kill tumor cells, and secrete cytokines
Durable complete responses > 12 months observed in patients with LBCL with low CD19 or CD20 antigen expression on tumor biopsies at baseline
Collectively, these data offer a potential biological rationale for the benefits of CD62L+ enrichment during manufacturing and CD19/CD20 dual-targeting, which are thought to underpin the high rates of durable complete responses previously reported with ronde-cel.

Ronde-cel is currently being evaluated for the treatment of R/R LBCL across two pivotal clinical trials. In the 3L+ setting, the ongoing single-arm PiNACLE trial is expected to report updated data in the second half of 2026 and pivotal data by mid-2027, setting up a subsequent Biologics License Application (BLA) submission in the second half of 2027. In the 2L setting, the Phase 3 randomized PiNACLE-H2H trial is evaluating ronde-cel against investigator’s choice of axicabtagene ciloleucel or lisocabtagene maraleucel.

(Press release, Lyell Immunopharma, JUN 12, 2026, View Source [SID1234666615])