Medicenna Therapeutics Appoints Humphrey Gardner, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer

Medicenna Therapeutics Corp., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, has announced the appointment of Dr. Humphrey Gardner as its new Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr. Gardner will lead the development strategy and execution of Medicenna’s clinical programs, focusing on the advancement of their novel Superkines.

Dr. Gardner brings with him over two decades of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, with a strong background in advancing immune-based therapies for cancer and other diseases. He has held leadership positions at various companies, including Harbour BioMed, Stingthera, Roivant Sciences, and Evelo Biosciences. Dr. Gardner’s expertise and dedication to Medicenna’s mission to create life-changing immunotherapies will be invaluable as the company progresses its clinical trials.

Medicenna is currently conducting a Phase 2 dose expansion trial with MDNA11, a potential best-in-class IL-2 super-agonist that targets solid tumors. The company is also developing MDNA55, an empowered IL-4 Superkine for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma, which has shown promising data in Phase 2 trials.

Dr. Gardner expressed his excitement about joining Medicenna and highlighted the potential of MDNA11 to overcome the challenges faced by first-generation IL-2 candidates. He also emphasized his commitment to advancing Medicenna’s pipeline, leveraging their Superkine platform to develop transformative immunotherapies for people with cancer.

Medicenna’s Superkine Platform is a drug discovery engine that enables the development of highly selective Superkines, which improve the specificity, function, and safety profile of unmodified interleukins. The company’s initial focus is on developing IL-2, IL-4, and IL-13 super-agonists and antagonists. Their novel platform, known as Bifunctional SuperKine Immunotherapies (BiSKITs), has demonstrated superior anti-tumor activity in preclinical studies, even in hard-to-treat tumors.

With the addition of Dr. Gardner to their management team, Medicenna is well-positioned to advance their clinical programs and bring innovative immunotherapies to patients. The company’s dedication to developing novel Superkines and their promising pipeline make them a key player in the field of immunotherapy.

For more information about Medicenna Therapeutics and their groundbreaking research, please visit their website at https://www.medicenna.com/.