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Medicenna's IL-2 Superkine, MDNA19, Demonstrates Best-in-Class Features in a Non-Human Primate Study
Medicenna's IL-2 Superkine, MDNA19, Demonstrates Best-in-Class Features in a Non-Human Pri...
About this update from Medicenna Therapeutics Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nMedicenna's IL-2 Superkine, MDNA19, Demonstrates Best-in-Class Features in a Non-Human Primate Study\n\n/* Style Definitions */\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n.prntac{\nTEXT-ALIGN: CENTER\n}\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCanada NewsWire\nTORONTO and HOUSTON, March 25, 2020\n\n\n\nConference call and webcast today at 10:00AM EST to discuss MDNA19 results with pre-clinical experts showing robust immune responses without toxicity\n TORONTO and HOUSTON, March 25, 2020 /CNW/ - Medicenna Therapeutics Corp.  (\"Medicenna\" or \"the Company\") (TSX: MDNA, OTCQB: MDNAF), a clinical stage immunotherapy company developing Superkines and Empowered Cytokines, will present pre-clinical data including non-human primate (NHP) data from its IL-2 Superkine program during a conference call and webcast today.\nThe presentation (details below) will highlight data from the long-acting variant MDNA19, engineered to have enhanced binding to CD122 without binding to CD25. This allows MDNA19 to specifically activate naïve CD8 T cells and natural killer (NK) cells with minimal stimulation of T regulatory cells (Tregs), thereby circumventing toxicity and demonstrating potential for best-in-class features. \n\"We are very excited by the overwhelmingly positive data for MDNA19 following our pilot study in NHP which shows that, unlike competing programs, MDNA19 is able to dramatically boost cancer-killing immune cells for an extended duration without underlying safety issues,\" said Dr. Fahar Merchant, President and CEO, Medicenna. \"These results demonstrate for the first time, that unlike peglylated versions of IL-2 which also tend to block activation of naïve CD8 T cells and NK cells, a long-acting IL-2 super-agonist can deliver best-in-class features without the complexity and limitations associated with other competing approaches. These data are a significant milestone for Medicenna as it paves the way for advancing our IL-2 Superkine program into the clinic next year having successfully closed a $35M financing last week.\"\nHighlights from the presentation include:\nKinetic studies in NHP showed a dose-depend...