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.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
"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])