Marker Therapeutics Inc (MRKR)

[microcapbiotech]

Interesting info for long time MRKR board members.
OK, Ann Leen, our Chief Scientific Officer, also founded another company we had talk about in the past on this board. That company was ViraCyte. There was discussion here about whether ViraCyte should be rolled into MRKR. Well, ViraCyte was acquired by ElevateBio (a holding company), and they changed the name from Viracyte to AlloVir.

NOW:
AlloVir and Baylor College of Medicine have teamed up to develop T-cell therapies against the novel coronavirus behind the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The alliance builds on existing work to create off-the-shelf cell therapies that identify and eliminate specific viruses.

Since setting up shop in 2013, AlloVir (then Viracyte) has built up a body of evidence that it can help people with weakened immune systems cope with viral pathogens. The approach entails exposing donor T cells to cytokines combined with viral fragments, thereby equipping the immune cells to recognize and help eliminate certain pathogens.
The most advanced expression of the approach is Viralym-M, a T-cell therapy designed to take out six viruses that commonly affect immunocompromised patients. Baylor moved that drug into phase 2 in 2014, coming away with data that encouraged AlloVir to plan a late-phase program.

Now, AlloVir and Baylor are applying the same approach to the SARS-CoV-2 virus sweeping across the world. AlloVir is aiming to create an off-the-shelf therapy that is capable of targeting SARS-CoV-2 and potentially similar viruses such as SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and endemic coronaviruses.
The plan is to position the SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells for use as a monotherapy and incorporate the coronaviruses into ALVR106, a preclinical asset aimed at community-acquired respiratory viruses. In doing so, AlloVir thinks it can improve outcomes in immunocompromised patients who are exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses with the potential to overwhelm their weakened immune systems.
Neither AlloVir nor Baylor has sketched out a timeline for the COVID-19 program. Other companies, notably those such as Gilead Sciences that repurposed existing drugs, have more advanced assets, but T cells in development at AlloVir could still fill a gap in the treatment landscape. Equally, AlloVir’s interest in coronaviruses other than SARS-CoV-2 means its therapies could still be relevant even if it misses the window in which treatments for the pandemic pathogen are in high demand.

https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/allovir-baylor-ally-to-develop-covid-19-t-cell-therapy