Marker Therapeutics announces non-dilutive agreement with CellReady

Marker Therapeutics announced that it has entered into a comprehensive agreement with CellReady, a newly formed Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization, CDMO. Under the terms of the non-dilutive agreement, CellReady will purchase certain cell manufacturing assets from Marker for approximately $19M in cash and reduce Marker’s overhead by about $11M annually by employing Marker’s manufacturing, development, quality, and regulatory affairs personnel, and assuming the leases for Marker’s Houston-based manufacturing and research and development facilities. The parties anticipate the transaction will close on June 26, 2023. Juan Vera, M.D., formerly Marker’s COO and Chief Scientific Officer, has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of Marker Therapeutics effective May 1, 2023. Dr. Vera commented, "Marker’s management and impartial members of the board worked with John Wilson and CellReady to develop a very creative and non-dilutive plan that provides Marker with the financial runway to pursue its clinical priorities through the end of 2025. At the same time, through CellReady, Marker will maintain full access to its industry-leading operational, quality, development, and regulatory team and facilities whenever it needs them. I look forward to working with the Marker clinical team to advance the development of MT-601 in our ongoing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma trial and eventual pancreatic cancer trial, in addition to MT-401 for our post-transplant AML trail. Additionally, I am spearheading a strategic review process of our clinical programs with the Marker management team as part of our restructuring efforts." In connection with this transaction, Marker’s board of directors established a special transactions committee of impartial directors to review the terms of the transaction, as well as other strategic alternatives, and to issue a recommendation to the board of directors. The impartial members of the board of directors unanimously approved entry into the transaction based on the special transactions committee’s recommendation.