Lyell Immunopharma develops engineered cellular immunotherapies that aim to overcome the biological barriers of solid tumors and improve durability of response. The company’s platform couples cell-engineering techniques with T-cell biology, aiming to create CAR-T products, tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapies and other next-generation adoptive cell therapies. Lyell emphasizes translational science, scalable GMP manufacturing, and strategic collaborations to move candidates from lead optimization into clinical trials. Their work sits at the intersection of protein engineering, cell therapy, and tumor microenvironment modulation.
What Is Lyell Immunopharma and What Does It Do?
Lyell Immunopharma, founded in 2018 by Rick Klausner, is a San Francisco-based (United States) immunotherapy and cell-therapy company focused on CAR-T and TIL approaches for oncology. The company employs 224 people, pursuing engineered T-cell programs such as LYL797 (ROR1+ targets) and LYL845 (autologous TIL therapy) for solid tumors. Lyell integrates discovery biology with clinically oriented manufacturing to advance therapies that can penetrate hostile tumor microenvironments and deliver sustained anti-tumor activity.
How Much Funding Has Lyell Immunopharma Raised?
1. Post IPO
- Amount Raised: $100M
- Date: July 25, 2025
- Lead Investors: Institutional / public-market participation
- Motivation: Advance clinical trials and commercial readiness.
2. Series C
- Amount Raised: $493M (reported as Series C financing in 2020)
- Date: March 12, 2020
- Lead Investors: GSK (strategic collaboration)
- Motivation: R&D scale, manufacturing and clinical development.
Total Funding Raised: $493 Million
Latest Funding Date: July 25, 2025
Key Investors
1. GSK (GlaxoSmithKline)
- Details: Global pharma collaborating on cell-therapy development.
- Investment Focus Areas: Biologics, oncology, vaccines.
- Notable Investments / Collaborations: Multiple strategic alliances across oncology and rare disease.
2. Mubadala
- Details: Sovereign investment arm with healthcare & biotech bets.
- Investment Focus Areas: Life sciences, advanced therapeutics.
- Notable Investments: Portfolio biotech and medtech companies globally.
3. Sahsen Ventures
- Details: Early-stage investor backing life-science founders.
- Investment Focus Areas: Therapeutics, platform biotech.
- Notable Investments: Early-stage biotech companies (select examples).
Where Is Lyell’s Headquarters?
Lyell is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, within a major biotech cluster that supports translational science and manufacturing partnerships.
What’s Next for Lyell?
Lyell will prioritize advancing lead clinical candidates through pivotal trials, scaling GMP manufacturing, and pursuing partnerships to support late-stage development and commercialization in oncology.
Get Investor & Funding Insights with TexAu
TexAu helps sales and business teams uncover detailed fundraising information on companies like Lyell. Use the platform to research investors, track funding rounds, and gather actionable insights to strengthen prospecting and business strategy.
Sign Up for Free on TexAu and start uncovering detailed funding insights that give your business a competitive edge.
