Marker Therapeutics Inc (MRKR)

[hanscott]

NantKwest, NK: Everyone's Major competition for Pancreatic Cancer and a LOT of other cancers

Disclosure Upfront - Long NK - But I have not and am not selling a single share of MRKR. My break even is now $3.39 after an impossible coincidence at the last minute allowed me the opportunity to make one last large buy at $1.65 Jan 5. I've known about NK since last year and I think their upside is ultimately greater than MRKR for a number of reasons. Still, on Jan 5 I chose MRKR bc I think MRKR could possibly do what NK has done in the past 14 months (up from ~$1.24 to $30, >2000%), over the next 14 months.

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NK's "world's first off-the-shelf genetically engineered natural killer cell platform" is both very safe and inexpensive like MRKR. But so far it looks more effective for Pancreatic and they are starting to move into blood cancers.

Their platform consists of 3 NK cell line products that locate the tumor in distinct ways, and then kill targeted tumor cells using granzymes and perforin.

1. haNK - use antibody receptors that locate tumor cells coated with anti-tumor monoclonal antibodies.

2. taNK - use NK cells genetically engineered to carry CARs on NK cells.

3. t-haNK - combination of the taNK and haNK cell lines using anti-tumor monoclonal antibodies.

["Our haNK®, taNK®, and t-haNK™](https://nantkwest.com/about/) platforms have been designed to address "certain limitations of T-cell therapies including the reduction of risk of serious “cytokine storms.”

As an “off-the-shelf” therapy, NantKwest’s NK cells do not rely on a patient’s own often compromised immune system.

In Phase 1 clinical trials in patients with late stage cancer, Nantkwest’s NK cells have been administered as an investigational outpatient infusion therapy without any reported severe side effects to date, even at doses of 10 billion cells.

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[NantKwest, ImmunityBio Announce Positive Interim Data on Survival Rates in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Trials](https://nantkwest.com/nantkwest-immunitybio-announce-positive-interim-data-on-survival-rates-in-metastatic-pancreatic-cancer-trials/)
Jan 13, 2021 | Press Releases

Pivotal QUILT 88 trial based on combination immunotherapy of “Cancer Moonshot” strategy; early indications of increased survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients with no other approved treatment options

- In initial Cancer Moonshot QUILT trials of haNK and avelumab (PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor) completed in 2019, median overall survival rate more than doubled compared to historical controls (eight months versus three months)

- A complete remission was achieved when replacing haNK and PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor avelumab with PD-L1 t-haNK and four out of five patients are alive 8-16 months since beginning treatment on these expanded protocols

- Based on this encouraging early data, a single-arm Phase 2 study (QUILT 88, Cohort C) was initiated in October 2020, for which the primary endpoint is overall survival and 15 out of 18 (83%) of patients enrolled with second-line or greater pancreatic cancer remain alive to date.

- Randomized trials in first- and second-line pancreatic cancer are actively recruiting at three sites with more than 50 patients enrolled or being evaluated in QUILT 88 to date