{"id":512930,"date":"2021-07-14T09:03:06","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T13:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/medicennas-il-2-superkine-platform-featured-in-peer-reviewed-publication-demonstrating-its-superiority-and-ability-to-reprogram-the-tumor-microenvironment-in-pancreatic-cancer\/"},"modified":"2021-07-14T09:03:06","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T13:03:06","slug":"medicennas-il-2-superkine-platform-featured-in-peer-reviewed-publication-demonstrating-its-superiority-and-ability-to-reprogram-the-tumor-microenvironment-in-pancreatic-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/medicennas-il-2-superkine-platform-featured-in-peer-reviewed-publication-demonstrating-its-superiority-and-ability-to-reprogram-the-tumor-microenvironment-in-pancreatic-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicenna\u2019s IL-2 Superkine Platform Featured in Peer-Reviewed Publication Demonstrating its Superiority and Ability to Reprogram the Tumor Microenvironment in Pancreatic Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n — Preclinical results in a pancreatic cancer model show that MDNA109, delivered by an oncolytic adenovirus, induced superior anti-tumor response with tendency towards complete tumor regression, improved survival, and long-term immune memory effect<\/em>
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\n — The data highlight the ability of MDNA109 armed oncolytic virus to reshape the tumor microenvironment from an immunosuppressive to a pro-inflammatory one and its potential to treat immunologically \u201ccold\u201d tumors such as pancreatic cancer<\/em>\n <\/p>\n

TORONTO and HOUSTON, July 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Medicenna Therapeutics Corp. (\u201cMedicenna\u201d or \u201cthe Company\u201d) (NASDAQ: MDNA TSX: MDNA), a clinical stage immuno-oncology company, today announced the peer-reviewed publication of preclinical data on MDNA109, the Company\u2019s IL-2 Superkine platform that forms the basis for MDNA11. The paper<\/a>, which was published in Frontiers in Immunology<\/em>, was independently authored by researchers at the University of Helsinki (Finland) and other institutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis publication externally validates MDNA109\u2019s superiority and ability to reprogram the tumor microenvironment when it is used as an alternative to native IL-2 to arm oncolytic viruses,\u201d said Fahar Merchant, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Medicenna. \u201cThese findings highlight yet another use of the MDNA109 platform, which is a core component of our BiSKITsTM<\/sup> and MDNA11 programs. We look forward to sharing preliminary safety, PK\/PD and biomarker results from the Phase 1\/2 trial of MDNA11 in late Q4 of calendar 2021. In addition, we continue to leverage the versatility of MDNA109 and our Superkine platform to build a robust pipeline of interleukin-based therapies for subsequent partnership and collaboration opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preclinical studies presented in the paper evaluated oncolytic adenoviruses that were unarmed or armed to code for MDNA109 (MDNA109-virus) or wild-type IL-2 (wt-IL-2-virus) in a hamster pancreatic tumor model. Oncolytic adenoviruses promote selective infection and lysis of cancer cells and can effectively deliver therapeutic levels of cytokines into tumor lesions as well as boosting the host\u2019s underlying anti-tumor immunity1<\/sup>. While wild-type IL-2 (Proleukin) has been approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and kidney cancer, it has several shortcomings that the MDNA109 platform aims to address such as a poor safety profile and a propensity to amplify tumor-protecting Treg cells.<\/p>\n

Key findings from the paper include:<\/p>\n