Marker Therapeutics Receives Approval from United States Adopted Name (USAN) Council and International Nonproprietary Names (INN) Expert Committee for “Neldaleucel” as Nonproprietary Name for MT-601
HOUSTON, Jan. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marker Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRKR), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company focusing on developing next-generation T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors, announced today that the United States Adopted Names (USAN) Council, and the World Health Organization (WHO) International Nonproprietary Names (INN) expert committee has approved “neldaleucel” as the nonproprietary (generic) name for MT-601, a multi-tumor associated antigen (multiTAA)-specific T cell product candidate for the treatment of patients with lymphoma.
The USAN Council in close collaboration with the WHO established INN expert committee select and assign a single unique name of worldwide acceptability for each active substance that is to be marketed as a pharmaceutical, ensuring clear identification, safe prescription and dispensing of medicines to patients. Nonproprietary names are intended for use in pharmacopoeias, labelling, product information, advertising and other promotional material, drug regulation and scientific literature, and as a basis for product names, e.g. for generics. Their use is normally required by national and international legislations. The adoption of the name neldaleucel is a step forward for continued advancements of multiTAA therapies Marker is developing. The Company recently provided a clinical update on the Phase 1 study investigating MT-601 in CAR relapse patients with lymphoma, demonstrating clinical safety and durability in the first study participant, suggesting the clinical benefit of neldaleucel (Press Release, Dec 11, 2023).
“The assignment of the nonproprietary name to MT-601 represents a significant milestone as we advance this potential treatment for patients with lymphoma,” said Juan Vera, M.D., President and CEO of Marker Therapeutics. “The INN and USAN naming process meticulously evaluates proposed drug names for adherence to nomenclature guidelines and potential conflicts, followed by expert consensus and public review. The USAN and WHO INN approval of neldaleucel allows us to establish a universally recognized and conflict-free nonproprietary drug name for MT-601 and represents an important step in our path to ultimately market the drug.”
About multiTAA-specific T cells
The multi-tumor associated antigen (multiTAA)-specific T cell platform 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. Clinical trials that enrolled more than 200 patients with various hematological malignancies and solid tumors showed that autologous and allogeneic multiTAA-specific T cell products were well tolerated and demonstrated durable clinical responses, and consistent epitope spreading. The latter is typically not observed with other T cell therapies and enables the potential contribution to a lasting anti-tumor effect.
