Marker Therapeutics, Inc. reported scientific evidence from the Phase 1 APOLLO study demonstrating that lymphodepletion improves the expansion and persistence of MAR-T cells. The Company's Phase 1 APOLLO trial is investigating MT-601, a MAR-T cell product, in patients with lymphoma who have relapsed after anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy or for whom anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy is not an option. In December, the Company provided an update on the progress and clinical observations from the study, with a data cutoff date of September 10, 2024.
This update included clinical data from 9 patients from 5 clinical sites in the United States. Infusion of MT-601 was well tolerated in all study participants with no dose limiting toxicities (DLTs), including immune-effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). Similar correlations have been observed when using lymphodepletion with other T cell therapies, including CAR-T and tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) products.
While these prior studies have shown that T cell therapies can be effective with and without lymphodepletion, the use of lymphodepletion was associated with improved clinical outcomes and an enhanced expansion and persistence of T cells (Rosenberg SA, J Natl Cancer Inst, 1994; Ramos CA et al, J Clin Oncol, 2020; Turtle CJ et al, Sci Transl Med, 2016).
