'Bio VC' ARCH Acquires Additional $12.5 Million Stake in Next-Gen CAR-T Developer

According to the Form 4 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on March 6, ARCH Venture Partners IX–affiliated investment funds holding shares of Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LYEL) acquired an additional approximately 480,000 shares of common stock in open-market transactions. The purchase price was $25.61 per share, for a total of about $12.5 million (roughly KRW 17 billion). After this transaction, ARCH’s indirect holdings increased to approximately 1.42 million shares.

These shares are held indirectly through ARCH Venture Fund IX and related overage funds, with a disclosure clarifying that general partners and officers disclaim any direct ownership beyond their financial interest. This trade was one of two Form 4 filings jointly submitted by various ARCH entities and individuals for the same acquisition.

On March 9, Lyell announced the closing of an additional $50 million (approximately KRW 67 billion) tranche in a private placement, stating that together with existing cash it has secured operating funds through the second quarter of 2027. In mid-February, the company also reported dosing the first patient in a Phase III trial directly comparing its bispecific CAR-T candidate, “ronde-cel,” against approved CAR-T therapies in aggressive large B-cell lymphoma.

Headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Lyell is a Nasdaq-listed, clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing next-generation CAR-T cell therapies for cancer. Its key pipeline assets include LYL314 for aggressive large B-cell lymphoma and the LYL273 program targeting solid tumors such as metastatic colorectal cancer. The company aims to initiate pivotal studies and further development of these lead candidates in 2025–2026.