Celyad falls as it voluntarily pauses CYAD-101-002 Phase Ib trial

Shares of Belgium biotech Celyad Oncology (Euronext: CYAD) closed down 13.8% at 2.46 euros yesterday, after it announced it has taken the decision to voluntarily pause the CYAD-101-002 (KEYNOTE-B79) Phase Ib trial (NCT04991948).

The CYAD-101-002 trial is part of a collaboration with MSD, the ex-North America trading name of Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK). The trial is evaluating the company’s TCR Inhibitory Molecule (TIM)-based allogeneic NKG2D CAR T cell investigational therapy CYAD-101 administered concurrently with FOLFOX chemotherapy, followed by MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), in patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer.

Reports of two fatalities