Marker Therapeutics Appoints Mythili Koneru, M.D., Ph.D. as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development

HOUSTON, Feb. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications, today announced the appointment of Mythili Koneru, M.D., Ph.D. as Senior Vice President, Clinical Development. In this role, she will be responsible for clinical development strategy, clinical study design, and medical oversight of the Company's therapeutic product candidates. Dr. Koneru joins Marker Therapeutics from Eli Lilly and Company, where she served most recently as Associate Vice President of Immuno-Oncology.

"We are pleased to welcome an executive with Mythili's extensive experience and expertise in the immunotherapy and cell therapy field," said Peter L. Hoang, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Her impressive background in translational medicine and immuno-oncology, her proven leadership in clinical trial design and drug development, and her extensive patient care experience, will be invaluable in advancing our pipeline of next-generation T cell therapy candidates. We look forward to her many contributions to our future success."

In her previous role as Associate Vice President of Immuno-Oncology at Eli Lilly and Company, Dr. Koneru designed early-stage clinical trials for hematologic and solid tumor malignancies and was instrumental in developing clinical trial protocols, serving as medical lead for trial conduct. She has also served as Senior Medical Director of Early Phase Clinical Development at Eli Lilly before she was promoted to her most recent position. Prior to Eli Lilly, Dr. Koneru was an Oncology Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Renier Brentjens at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where she developed adoptive T cell therapies in both leukemia and solid tumor malignancies in early phase clinical trials.

Dr. Koneru earned a B.A. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Chicago, a Ph.D. in Biomedical Research: Tumor Immunology from New York University, and an M.D. from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

About Marker Therapeutics, Inc.
Marker Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications. Marker's cell therapy technology is based on the selective expansion of non-engineered, tumor-specific T cells that recognize tumor associated antigens (i.e. tumor targets) and kill tumor cells expressing those targets. Once infused into patients, this population of T cells attacks multiple tumor targets and acts to activate the patient's immune system to produce broad spectrum anti-tumor activity. Because Marker does not genetically engineer its T cells, when compared to current engineered CAR-T and TCR-based approaches, its products (i) are significantly less expensive and easier to manufacture, (ii) appear to be markedly less toxic, and (iii) are associated with meaningful clinical benefit. As a result, Marker believes its portfolio of T cell therapies has a compelling therapeutic product profile, as compared to current gene-modified CAR-T and TCR-based therapies. 

Marker is also advancing a number of innovative peptide- and gene-based immuno-therapeutics for the treatment of metastatic solid tumors, including the Folate Receptor Alpha program (TPIV200) for breast and ovarian cancers and the HER2/neu program (TPIV100/110) for breast cancer, currently in Phase II clinical trials. In parallel, we are developing a proprietary DNA expression technology named PolyStart™ that can enhance the ability of the immune system to recognize and destroy diseased cells.

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Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer
This release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this news release concerning the Company's expectations, plans, business outlook or future performance, and any other statements concerning assumptions made or expectations as to any future events, conditions, performance or other matters, are "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs, projections, outlook, analyses or current expectations concerning, among other things: our research and development activities relating to our multi-tumor antigen specific T cell therapies; our TPIV200 and TPIV100/110 programs and our PolyStart™ program; the effectiveness of these programs or the possible range of application and potential curative effects and safety in the treatment of diseases; and, the timing and success of our clinical trials, as well as multi-tumor antigen specific T cell clinical trials conducted by our collaborators. Forward-looking statements are by their nature subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to the risks set forth in the Company's most recent Form 10-K, 10-Q and other SEC filings which are available through EDGAR at www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to update our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release. 

SOURCE Marker Therapeutics, Inc.

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