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MARKER THERAPEUTICS TO PRESENT FOUR POSTERS ON ITS T CELL-BASED IMMUNOTHERAPIES AT THE 2022 INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR CELL & GENE THERAPY ANNUAL MEETING
May 4, 2022 at 10:30 AM EDT
HOUSTON, May 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, today announced that the Company will present four posters on its Multi-Tumor-Associated Antigen (MultiTAA)-specific T cell therapies at the 2022 International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Annual Meeting, being held May 4-7, 2022, in San Francisco.
"We are excited to present data on our state-of-the-art T cell therapy manufacturing process for our MultiTAA-specific T cell product candidates at ISCT, including improvements resulting in faster manufacturing time and increased potency for our lead product candidate, MT-401, currently in a Phase 2 study for the treatment of post-transplant AML,” said Peter L. Hoang, President & CEO of Marker Therapeutics. “We look forward to sharing additional details on our improved manufacturing process, which we believe has the potential to enhance clinical responses in patients. In addition, we will present more detail on the clinical results from the six-patient safety lead-in stage of our Phase 2 AML trial, previously reported in February 2022, which demonstrate that MT-401 was well-tolerated, eliminated measurable residual disease (MRD) in one MRD+ patient and induced epitope spreading.”
The four posters will be presented on Thursday, May 5, from 5:45 p.m. – 7:15 p.m. PT.
MT-401 (multi-tumor associated antigen-specific T cells) utilized for treatment for MRD+ AML patients
Abstract #: 515
Presenter: Shukaib Arslan, MD, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Long-term Characterization of T Cell Product Interactions using in vitro 3D tumor models and the Go-Rex Platform
Abstract #: 506
Presenter: Eric A. Smith, PhD, Marker Therapeutics
Rapid and Simplified Process for Manufacturing Multi-Tumor-Associated Antigen Specific T Cells
Abstract #: 936
Presenter: Anastasiya Smith, PhD, Marker Therapeutics
Automating Closed System Purification of White Blood Cells for T Cell Therapy Manufacturing
Abstract #: 937
Presenter: Anastasiya Smith, PhD, Marker Therapeutics
I might have missed it…….because we have a “pause” on the AML trial does that mean we don’t get an interim readout by the end of the first quarter? Did they say anything about that?
I’m with ya!
Might be a tad early for “Great News”…..but I like your enthusiasm!
Maybe we will hear something informative in the Q4 conference……I believe it will be sometime before the 15th…..
10-4 Buckboard!
Buckboard……many years ago when we were in TPIV I told everyone if this one pans out the first round is on me in Las Vegas baby! And that deal is still on!
OK guys…..what the hell happened at noon today! The November Tax sellers decided to get back in?
Well good advice and great connections can’t hurt!
I’m more interested in what she can do to move this company along!
MARKER THERAPEUTICS APPOINTS BIOTECH EXECUTIVE KATHARINE KNOBIL, M.D., TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
December 9, 2021 at 7:00 AM EST
HOUSTON, Dec. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MARKER THERAPEUTICS, INC. (NASDAQ: MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, today announced the appointment of Katharine Knobil, M.D., to the Company's Board of Directors.
"We are excited to announce the appointment of Dr. Knobil to the Board of Directors," said Peter L. Hoang, President & CEO of Marker. "Dr. Knobil's extensive leadership experience in clinical development of new therapies, including 20 years of leadership at GlaxoSmithKline plc, will serve Marker well as the Company advances its novel cell therapies in the clinic. We look forward to Dr. Knobil's valuable counsel and expertise."
Dr. Knobil currently serves as Chief Medical Officer at Agilent Technologies, Inc. Prior to Agilent, she served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development at Kaleido Biosciences, Inc. Previously, Dr. Knobil served in various leadership positions during a 20-year career at GlaxoSmithKline plc, before becoming Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Knobil received a B.A. in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and an M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
The catalyst I’m looking forward to is the interim readout in Q1 2022 of the AML trial…….if the science continues to show efficacy then I believe we are on our way…….
All I can say is it’s almost “next year”……and I’m down a bunch too! I’m a glass half full kinda guy so I’m in a holding pattern waiting for news as well! GLTA!
Phantom……would love you comments on this please…..Burr
Seeking Alpha article posted this morning…….
Since I covered Marker Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRKR) in April, the stock is down 30%. The stock has a bit of a following, the outlook is mostly positive, and the short interest, too, is a nondescript 2%. And yet the stock has stayed depressed since 2018 - what gives?
Marker is a developer of a kind of T cell therapy which does not need to be engineered, simply expanded. Contrast that to a CAR-T, where the T in a CAR-T is genetically reengineered. So it acts like a foreign body, an antigen, generating an immune response. Therefore this requires lymphodepletion to suppress the immune response; even then, CAR-T treatment can cause severe cytokine storms, endangering the patient.
The MultiTAA technology developed by Marker simply expands the T cells and does not reengineer them. Therefore they behave just like any other autologous T cell, do not produce an immune response and do not require lymphodepletion. Yet they are able to recognize multiple tumor associated antigens across the solid and heme space, and kill tumor cells expressing those antigens. Not only is the therapy easier to manufacture, but it is also overwhelmingly cheaper. Lack of genetic modification also reduces the risk of malignant mutagenesis. All this makes MultiTAA a much better option, in theory. And in practice, Marker says that they have not come across a single serious adverse event, or SAE, in the over 150 patients they have treated so far. This is not something you will hear about CAR-T.
As I noted in my previous coverage:
In various trials in over 150 patients across 7 indications in Phase I/II trials at Baylor College of Medicine, Marker's therapies have shown complete response rates similar to CAR-T results. They have differed from CAR-T in that these CRs have exhibited strong durability. The therapy has shown no evidence of cytokine release syndrome, neurotoxicity or dose limiting toxicities. The therapy costs less than $8000 to manufacture, comparing positively to the million-dollar price tag of CAR-Ts. It can also be given in an outpatient setting in a 10 minute infusion, with 3 infusions over 2-4 weeks.
The company's pipeline looks like this:
Source
The problem with this scenario is that there are 8 trials running, 6 of these in phase 1 and 2 in phase 2, and of these 8, 7 are being undertaken by the Baylor College. That leaves Marker with just one phase 2 trial in AML, which is supposed to come out with data in mid 2022. AML is usually an exploratory indication for cancer therapies and does not evoke a lot of interest in the early stage. Basically, therefore, Marker has a technology of some theoretical promise but nothing they have proven in the clinic. This is precisely the reason the stock is trading sideways for months now:
Source
If we are looking for more reasons and want to get technical, the phase 2 AML study is an open label study. There are three arms in this trial, an adjuvant arm, meaning therapy is given to people after their HSCT, where there has been no relapse observed; the control arm, which provides for no intervention after HSCT; and an active disease arm, where disease has relapsed. The problem, as I see it, with this approach is that data would probably have been better understood if there had been a control arm for each intervention setting. Clearly, a larger clinical trial will aim to address one of these two exploratory arms, the one where data is more robust. I remain confused how the two arms will be differentiated among themselves if they are being compared to the same undifferentiated control arm.
Let us say you want to compare the level of fermentation of two sugary drinks after one week of setting. What is the ideal comparator here? I would think it would be each sugary drink that has been refrigerated to prevent fermentation. Instead, you mix both sugary drinks and refrigerate them, and provide just a single statistic for the mixture. How are you going to compare the level of fermentation of each drink? There are basically two separate trials here, apparently put together for convenience, but for the sake of convenience, important parameters are being lost. This trial is just aimed at being indicative, and a future trial will be required to arrive at more conclusive conclusions. Until then, there can be no defined positive conclusion to be made about MRKR, and therefore, the stock will not find momentum.
The company, in June, completed the six-patient safety part of the phase 2 trial. Patient enrollment is ongoing. There will be 120 patients in the adjuvant setting and 40 more in the active disease portion. Enrollment will be over by Q4. Top line data from the active portion is expected by Q1.
Financials
MRKR has a market cap of $127mn and till June 30, 2021, Marker had cash and cash equivalents of $57.2 million, which it thinks will last till 2023. The company recently received a $13mn award to support the development of MT-401, so that adds to its cash reserve. Including that, they have around $70mn in cash. Research and development expenses were $7.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, and SG&A expenses were around $3.6mn. So they have around 7 quarters of cash at this rate. The company also did a $56.5 public offering in Q1.
There is moderate interest from funds and institutions. Key holders are:
Source
There have been no new purchases since my April article, except one.
Bottom Line
This article, such as it is, resulted from a question by TPT members about the continued stagnation of the stock. Frankly, there's not much to work with here to answer that question. They were in a data desert, and they are still in a data desert. There are minor updates but that is all that is - and those haven't moved the stock. I am continuing to avoid the stock for now, although, given the theoretical promise of the technology, I will keep watching it closely.
Phantom……..does it seem strange to you that the first presentation next Monday is at 7AM ET? Prior to market open?
Seems mighty early for an investment conference! ??
H.C. Wainwright Annual Global Investment Conference
Company Presenter: Anthony H. Kim, Chief Financial Officer
Date: Monday, September 13, 2021
Time: On-demand beginning at 7:00 a.m. ET
Top six in volume works for me…..thx Phantom
More than 6 million shares traded today……wondering if that is a record for us?
This shows credibility from an independent institution……
Lobster omelettes, Lobster Rolls and just plain Steamed Lobster with drawn butter!
HOUSTON, Aug. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, today announced that the Company received notice of a Product Development Research award totaling approximately $13.1 million from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to support the Company's Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead MultiTAA-specific T cell product MT-401.
Does MRKR have an earnings call today or did I miss it yesterday?
Thanks Phantom! I really appreciate it……Burr
Phantom…..just for shits and kicks and I know this is just your opinion but with what you know about Marker and your extensive discussions with Peter…..on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being(to da moon) what kind of results do you think we can expect from our current AML trial?
I would also understand if you don’t feel comfortable responding to this question…….Burr
Yep that’s how I see it too…….hoping it’s a real Happy New Year!
Just the next step in the process!
MARKER THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF SAFETY LEAD-IN PORTION OF PHASE 2 STUDY IN POST-TRANSPLANT AML
July 6, 2021 at 7:00 AM EDT
Company continues to enroll patients in main portion of the Phase 2 trial with topline data from active disease group expected in Q1 2022
HOUSTON, July 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, today announced completion of the six-patient safety lead-in portion of the Company's Phase 2 trial of MT-401, its lead MultiTAA-specific T cell product candidate, for the treatment of post-transplant acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
"We are pleased with the results of the safety lead-in portion of the trial, in which all six patients met the safety endpoints following infusion of our MultiTAA-specific T cell therapy," said Mythili Koneru, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Marker Therapeutics. "We are currently enrolling patients in the main portion of our first Company-sponsored trial and continue to activate clinical sites across the U.S. We are looking forward to further advancing MT-401 in this disease setting. Despite recent advances in how hematological malignancies are treated, patients remain in urgent need of new therapeutic options."
Agree…..this one is the best one yet!
Anyone notice this new Corporate Presentation?
https://ir.markertherapeutics.com/static-files/30b9d39a-b824-4be7-878a-8007405f87e8
Thanks Phantom! Long and Strong!
MARKER THERAPEUTICS TO PRESENT AT THE VIRTUAL RAYMOND JAMES HUMAN HEALTH INNOVATION CONFERENCE
Monday, June 21, 2021 at 9:20 a.m. ET
Sure looks that way TomP……I like the steady rise on decent volume……
Not sure but it could be the increase in recent insider buying.....under normal situations that’s generally a telltale sign......be nice to bust thru $3 tomorrow......
It sure appears that way......I like the steady upward move with great volume.......
Not that I’m aware of......was hoping at ASCO but not likely....
Good volume the last several weeks......looks like slow and steady accumulation......hope it holds!
I’m all in!
learningcurve.......our CEO is not going to comment on an SA article.....plain and simple. I don’t think most of us would be here if we didn’t believe what was in that article it’s just not something he can or will comment on......
“I think the CEO should be forced to address shareholders on that SA article and tell us all why no comparisons can be drawn.”
Thanks Phantom......good to hear from you again! Burr