On March 18, 2026 BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics, Inc. ("BBOT") (Nasdaq: BBOT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on RAS-pathway malignancies, reported multiple presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2026 being held on April 17-22, 2026, in San Diego, California. The abstracts released today can be found on the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) website here.

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Details on the presentations are as follows:

Title: The RAS: PI3Kα breaker BBO-10203 inhibits PI3Kα/AKT activity in HER2+ models through non-canonical RAS signaling blockade
Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
Session Title: Targeted Protein Degradation and Non-cannonical Oncogenic Signaling
Session Type: Oral Presentation
Session Date/Time: Tuesday, April 21, 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. PT
Location: Upper Level Ballroom 6DE
Abstract Number: 6780
Presenter: James Stice, PhD, Director, BBOT

Title: BBO-11818: an orally bioavailable, highly potent and selective non-covalent pan-KRAS (ON) and (OFF) inhibitor with robust anti-tumor activity in KRAS-mutant preclinical models
Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
Session Title: Novel Antitumor Agents 3
Session Type: Poster Presentation
Session Date/Time: Wednesday, April 22, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PT
Location: Poster Section 13
Poster Board Number: 24
Poster Number: 7104
Presenter: Carlos Stahlhut, PhD, Associate Director, BBOT

About BBO-11818
BBO-11818 is a selective, orally bioavailable non-covalent inhibitor that targets KRAS in both the ON and OFF states, has high selectivity over HRAS and NRAS, and displays strong activity in KRAS-mutant preclinical models, including KRASG12D and KRASG12V. BBO-11818 potently suppresses MAPK signaling and inhibits cell proliferation in KRAS-mutant cell lines and mouse models. BBO-11818 is currently being evaluated in the Phase 1 KONQUER-101 trial in subjects with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic KRAS-mutant solid tumors.

About BBO-10203
BBO-10203 is a first-in-class small molecule which breaks the protein-protein interaction between RAS and PI3Kα and inhibits RAS-mediated activation of the PI3Kα pathway. It selectively disrupts oncogenic RAS-PI3Kα signaling while sparing insulin-mediated glucose uptake, potentially maintaining efficacy with reduced risk of hyperglycemia or hyperinsulinemia. BBO-10203 is currently being evaluated in the Phase 1 BREAKER-101 trial for patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER2+ breast cancer, HR+/HER2- breast cancer, KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer, and KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancer.

(Press release, BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics, MAR 18, 2026, View Source [SID1234663727])

On March 18, 2026 Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for hematological malignancies and solid tumors, reported corporate updates and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2025.

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"In 2025, we continued to advance MT-601, our lead Multi-Antigen Recognizing (MAR)-T cell therapy, and generated highly encouraging clinical data from our ongoing Phase 1 APOLLO study," said Juan Vera, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Marker Therapeutics. "Updated results reported last August demonstrated a 66% objective response rate in relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including durable complete responses, with a favorable safety profile across evaluated doses. During the year we also reported immunomonitoring data indicating that lymphodepletion enhances the expansion and persistence of MT-601, and we advanced the APOLLO study into dose expansion in patients with relapsed Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL). We anticipate providing a data update from the APOLLO study in the second quarter of 2026."

Dr. Vera continued, "Beyond lymphoma, we made important progress expanding our MAR-T platform across hematologic and solid tumors. Recent research from Baylor College of Medicine published in Nature Medicine in early 2026 showed promising results in pancreatic cancer using MAR-T cells and received national coverage on Good Morning America."

"Looking ahead, we expect continued clinical execution across our programs, including additional APOLLO data updates and initiation of our company-sponsored pancreatic cancer clinical program, which we believe positions the next 12 to 18 months as an important value-creating period for Marker," concluded Dr. Vera.

2025 PROGRAM UPDATES & OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

MT-601 (Lymphoma)

MT-601, Marker’s lead MAR-T cell therapy, is being evaluated in the nationwide multicenter APOLLO study (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT05798897) in patients with lymphoma who have relapsed after anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy or for whom CAR-T therapy is not an option.
The Company provided an update on the Phase 1 study in August 2025 (Press Release, Aug 26, 2025) highlighting encouraging overall response rates. These data were also presented at the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in December 2025. Key findings from the update included:
66% objective response rate (8/12) in patients with relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including 50% complete responses. Durable responses were observed (range 3-24 months).
78% objective response rate (7/9) observed in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Favorable safety profile across all dose levels (100×10⁶–400×10⁶ cells), with no dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) and no ICANS reported.
The dose expansion phase of the study is enrolling patients with anti-CD19 CAR-relapsed Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) at the maximum dose level (400×10⁶ cells).
Additional patient data and FDA feedback on study design are expected in the second quarter of 2026.
MT-601 (Pancreatic Cancer)

Marker continues to advance MT-601 in pancreatic cancer, supported by non-dilutive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).
Nature Medicine publication (January 2026): Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine reported encouraging results evaluating multi-antigen targeted T cells in pancreatic cancer, demonstrating a favorable safety profile and up to 84.6% disease control rate when combined with frontline chemotherapy (Press Release, Jan 5, 2026).
Marker expects to initiate its company-sponsored pancreatic cancer program in the second quarter of 2026, incorporating learnings from prior studies.
MT-401 Off-the-Shelf Program (AML/MDS)

Marker is evaluating MT-401, a MAR-T cell therapy targeting four antigens, as an Off-the-Shelf (OTS) product in the Phase 1 RAPID study in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
The study is supported by non-dilutive grant funds from National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).
ADDITIONAL 2025 CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS

Manufacturing collaboration with Cellipont Bioservices to advance cGMP production of MT-601. Technical transfer expected to be completed in Q2 2026.
Kathryn Penkus Corzo, R.Ph., MBA joined the Board of Directors (November 1, 2025).
FISCAL YEAR 2025 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Cash Position and Guidance: At December 31, 2025, Marker had cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash of $17 million. The Company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents will fund its operating expenses through the fourth quarter of 2026, assuming no additional grant funds are received, either from new grants or from existing awarded grants.

R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $11.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $13.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.

G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $4.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $4.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Net Loss: Marker reported a net loss of $12.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to a net loss of $10.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.

About MAR-T cells
The multi-antigen recognizing (MAR) T cell platform (formerly known as multiTAA-specific T cells) is a novel, non-genetically modified cell therapy approach that selectively expands tumor-specific T cells from a patient’s/donor’s blood capable of recognizing a broad range of tumor antigens. Unlike other T cell therapies, MAR-T cells allow the recognition of hundreds of different epitopes within up to six tumor-specific antigens, thereby reducing the possibility of tumor escape. Since MAR-T cells are not genetically engineered, Marker believes that its product candidates will be easier and less expensive to manufacture, with an improved safety profile compared to current engineered T cell approaches and may provide patients with meaningful clinical benefits.

(Press release, Marker Therapeutics, MAR 18, 2026, View Source [SID1234663726])

On March 18, 2026 Excalipoint Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing next-generation T-cell engager (TCE) therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases, reported an oversubscribed $68.7 million seed financing round to support advancement of its proprietary technology platforms and pipeline of differentiated T-cell engager programs.

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The financing includes $41 million in seed funding completed at the company’s inception in August 2025, co-led by HSG, Apricot Capital, and Yuanbio Venture Capital, with participation from 5Y Capital, Co-Win Ventures, Med-Fine Capital and Hony Capital. The seed round represents one of the largest early-stage financings for a Chinese biotechnology company.

After ramping up to full operational status and achieving significant clinical progress in just six months, the company secured a $27.7 million extension round co-led by MPCi (formerly Matrix Partners China) and Centurium Capital. The round also included significant participation from global investors LAV (Lilly Asia Ventures) and Eisai Innovation Inc, the venture arm of Eisai Co., Ltd. Existing investors Apricot Capital and 5Y Capital also participated in the extension round.

Excalipoint was co-founded by Lei Fang, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Jielun Zhu, MBA, CFA, Co-Founder, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer. Dr. Fang previously held leadership roles at Lepu Biopharma and I-Mab Biopharma, while Mr. Zhu brings over 20 years of healthcare and capital markets experience, including leadership roles at I-Mab Biopharma, Fapon Group, and Jefferies.

The new funding will support advancement of Excalipoint’s proprietary platforms – TOPAbody, T-Cell Immune Shield, and TCE Probody – as well as a pipeline of six differentiated programs with first- or best-in-class potential. These programs are designed to improve the efficacy, safety, and durability of T-cell immunotherapies for solid tumors and other difficult-to-treat cancers.

Excalipoint’s next-generation platforms are designed to overcome key biological barriers that have historically limited T-cell engager therapies, including converting "cold" tumors into "hot" tumors, addressing the tumor microenvironment, and enabling targeting of difficult-to-drug tumor antigens. Supported by these proprietary platforms, the company is building a diversified pipeline to reduce single-asset risk and drive value through strategic partnerships and out-licensing.

Excalipoint’s pipeline includes the following programs:

EXP011 (CTM012) – A tri-specific antibody targeting DLL3, CD3, and 4-1BB, being developed for small cell lung cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, and other DLL3-expressing malignancies. The company initiated a Phase I/II clinical trial with the first patient dosed in October 2025.
EXP012 (CTM013) – A tri-specific antibody targeting CDH17, CD3, and 4-1BB, being developed to treat colorectal, gastric, and pancreatic cancers.
EXP016 – A tri-specific antibody leveraging the TOPAbody platform designed to target solid tumors with high unmet medical need.
EXP017 – A multi-specific antibody developed using the Immune Shield platform aimed at addressing key limitations of the tumor microenvironment.
EP101 – A molecule enhanced with the Pro-TCE platform technology designed to enable targeting of challenging tumor-associated antigens.
EXP015 – A tri-specific antibody derived from the TOPAbody platform targeting IgG-associated diseases in immunology.
"Excalipoint is developing a proprietary pipeline and three powerful technology platforms to position our company as a true innovation powerhouse and developer of T-cell engagers," said Lei Fang, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Excalipoint Therapeutics. "By combining science and capital with China’s clinical development efficiency and access to large patient populations, we can rapidly generate clinical data while advancing a pipeline of differentiated therapies. Our progress reflects the strength and maturity of China’s biotech ecosystem, which has become an essential part of the global innovation value chain. The strong support from top-tier investors validates both our science and this new approach to building a globally competitive biotechnology company."

"Our successful launch and backing from top-tier investors highlight Excalipoint’s strong growth potential. In just six months, we added two technology platforms and expanded our pipeline to six differentiated programs," said Jielun Zhu, MBA, CFA, Co-Founder, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer of Excalipoint Therapeutics. "Built on a NewCo model, we are combining disciplined capital deployment, focused execution, and cross-border partnerships to efficiently translate our science into clinical progress and long-term value."

Founded under a pioneering China NewCo model that integrates experienced founders, pipeline assets, and venture capital to accelerate drug development, Excalipoint has rapidly evolved into a multi-platform clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on next-generation T-cell engager therapeutics.

"MPCi is deeply engaged in healthcare, focusing on science-driven innovative enterprises with core technological barriers. Excalipoint is our highly recognized next-generation TCE innovation powerhouse," said David Su, Founding Managing Partner, MPCi. "With three independent and cutting-edge technology platforms, it has the potential to break down traditional TCE treatment bottlenecks. It boasts 6 highly differentiated pipelines and the rapid clinical progress of EXP011, the lead asset, reflects the team’s exceptional competence and flawless execution. As its long-term partner, MPCi will empower Excalipoint to unlock the enormous value of T-cell immunotherapy and become a global innovation benchmark."

"Centurium Capital’s investment thesis focuses on identifying companies capable of driving transformative innovation, and we believe Excalipoint is among the most promising next-generation TCE companies globally," said Vicky Li, Executive Director at Centurium Capital. "Led by Dr. Lei Fang and Mr. Jielun Zhu, the company combines strong scientific leadership, a differentiated pipeline, and an impressive track record of execution. We are proud to co-lead this financing and support Excalipoint’s continued growth."

(Press release, Excalipoint Therapeutics, MAR 18, 2026, View Source [SID1234663724])

On March 18, 2026 Inocras, a bioinformatics-led precision health company harnessing the power of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and proprietary analytics, and the Broad Institute reported the upcoming release of key insights from whole-genome analysis of over 8,000 public cancer whole genomes. This analysis aims to deliver one of the largest genome-wide landscapes of somatic mutations across human pan-cancers.

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"NCI’s public The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) efforts have been central to many advances in cancer genomics, yet most of that progress has come from looking at a small portion of the genome," said Gad Getz, PhD, a professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School, Director of Bioinformatics at the Krantz Family Center for Cancer Research and Dept. of Pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Core Institute Member at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Joining him as a co-lead of the Broad–Inocras collaboration, Esther Rheinbay, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Associate Member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, added: "While genomic discovery has long centered on protein-coding genes, the vast ‘dark matter’ of the non-coding genome holds important clues to tumorigenesis. By looking at non-coding regulatory sequences, we are identifying candidate driver events that were previously missed by standard sequencing approaches". Dr. Getz further noted, "By providing a harmonized, high-quality whole-genome variant dataset across thousands of samples, this collaboration creates a standard reference for cancer whole genome studies that can uncover novel coding and non-coding driver events as well as new potential targets; moreover, it can be used to train next-generation AI and other computational models poised to reveal new insights and transform precision oncology".

Whole-genome sequencing is the next step for genomic discovery

Broad Institute and Inocras researchers teamed up to analyze thousands of high-quality whole cancer genomes released by NCI for the TCGA project. This dataset is the landmark cancer genomics program of the NCI that has molecularly characterized over 8,000 cases across 31 different cancer types with well-annotated clinical information and has been an invaluable resource for cancer research and for developing cancer diagnostics tools for nearly two decades. However, previous studies have been limited, relying primarily on whole-exome sequencing data analysis, leaving several key aspects understudied, including oncogenic driver mutations in non-coding regions, genomic rearrangements (structural variations; SVs), genome-wide copy number alterations (CNA), and mutational signatures. As a consequence, most routine cancer sequencing and discovery work has thus far relied on targeted gene panels that cover only a small fraction of the genome.

A harmonized dataset for cancer whole genomes

The Broad–Inocras collaboration moves the field to whole-genome coverage at scale: The whole genome analysis was performed using a bioinformatics pipeline by the Broad Institute and CancerVisionTM from Inocras in parallel, and then the two organizations harmonized the variant calls for the downstream analysis. All the data was consolidated into a single, frozen, and well-curated dataset to enable a consistent analysis across both groups and robust benchmarking of computational and AI methods. This effort represents a unified whole genome analytical framework for the TCGA dataset, establishing a new gold standard for cancer genome research.

"The powerful cancer whole genome pipelines of both organizations at production scale have made this project possible, while creating a robust tumor-normal whole genome cancer dataset," said Dr Young Seok Ju, Co-Founder of Inocras, Director of Genome Insight Institute and Associate Professor at KAIST. " The whole genome pipelines and dataset set the gold standard of cancer research, potentially unlocking the next wave of cohort studies, drug discovery, and AI-driven cancer research at a WGS level."

AACR Annual meeting 2026 sessions to present results from the Broad–Inocras collaboration and future initiatives

The key insights from this collaboration will be shared in different forums and poster sessions during the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2026. Prof. Getz from the Broad Institute will present "New Insights from TCGA Whole-Genome Sequencing" during the Educational Session on Saturday, April 18th. In addition, the principal investigators from the Broad Institute and Inocras—including Prof. Getz; Dr. Rheinbay; and Youngseok Ju, MD, PhD, Co-founder of Inocras and Associate professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology—will jointly present data highlights and discuss future initiatives during the Exhibitor Spotlight session "TCGA and Beyond: Whole-Genome Data Powering the Next Era of Cancer Intelligence" on Monday, April 20th.

(Press release, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, MAR 18, 2026, View Source [SID1234663723])

On March 18, 2026 TriSalus Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: TLSI) (the "Company"), an oncology company integrating novel delivery technology with standard of care therapies, and its investigational immunotherapeutic to transform treatment for patients with solid tumors, reported the publication of preclinical research evaluating Pressure-Enabled Drug Delivery (PEDD) of nelitolimod in liver tumor models in Frontiers in Oncology.

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The study evaluated the delivery and biologic activity of nelitolimod, an investigational Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, when administered using PEDD, compared with conventional delivery approaches. The research examined therapeutic distribution in a porcine liver tumor model and anti-tumor activity in murine liver metastasis models.

Key findings from the study include:

Improved intratumoral delivery: PEDD administration with the TriNav Infusion System resulted in significantly greater distribution of nelitolimod within and around tumors compared with delivery through a conventional microcatheter in an Oncopig model of hepatic tumors
Evidence of enhanced immune activity: Treatment using PEDD was associated with reduced levels of immunosuppressive myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and increased infiltration of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells within the tumor microenvironment.
Reduced tumor growth: In a murine liver metastasis model, nelitolimod delivered using PEDD significantly reduced tumor growth compared with systemic administration at key time points during the study.
Potential impact of delivery on immunotherapy performance: The findings support the concept that improving therapeutic distribution within tumors may influence both immune activation and anti-tumor activity.

"This study highlights the critical role that delivery plays in determining how effectively therapies engage the tumor microenvironment, particularly for immunotherapies designed to activate local immune responses," said Mary Szela, President and Chief Executive Officer of TriSalus Life Sciences. "By combining PEDD-enabled delivery with nelitolimod, we observed improved distribution within tumors along with encouraging signals of immune activation and anti-tumor activity in these preclinical models. Importantly, these findings illustrate the broader potential of PEDD as a delivery platform capable of enhancing the intratumoral delivery of multiple therapeutic modalities while limiting exposure healthy tissue. We believe this approach may help unlock the full potential of immunotherapies and other agents for patients with difficult-to-treat solid tumors, including those in the liver."

For TriSalus Life Sciences, the data reinforces the Company’s strategy of combining PEDD-enabled delivery with locoregional immunotherapy approaches. The TriNav Infusion System is designed to temporarily overcome elevated intratumoral pressure and reopen collapsed microvasculature to promote distribution of therapeutics within tumors and surrounding tissue and increasing the level of the therapeutic in the tumor.

Nelitolimod is being investigated by TriSalus for use as an immunotherapy intended to stimulate immune responses within tumors. This study’s findings support continued investigation of approaches that combine targeted drug delivery with immune activation in solid tumors.

(Press release, TriSalus Life Sciences, MAR 18, 2026, View Source [SID1234663722])