Marker Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRKR) has announced that it has been awarded a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to support the clinical investigation of MT-601 in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).
The grant proceeds of the grant will support the U.S., multi-center Phase 1 APPOLO study, which is evaluating the safety and efficacy of MT-601, a multi-tumor associated antigen-specific T cell product, in patients with relapsed NHL, including those previously treated with anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. With this SBIR grant, Marker has been awarded more than $19 million in non-dilutive funding proceeds.
In a statement, Juan Vera, M.D., president and CEO of Marker, said, “Although anti-CD19 CAR-T cells are rapidly expanding as a treatment option in patients with hematological malignancies, approximately 40-60% of patients will relapse within the first year of therapy with currently no standard of care for patients post CD19-targeting CAR-T cells.”
Dr. Vera added, “The NIH award process is highly competitive, and we believe that the decision the NIH made suggests the potential scientific merit and the capacity of Marker’s APOLLO study to address an unmet medical need.”
