TORONTO - Medicenna Therapeutics Corp. (TSX: MDNA), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, has announced new preclinical data on its advanced candidate, MDNA113, at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting held in San Diego on April 9th, 2024.
MDNA113 is designed to deliver two immunotherapies directly to the tumor site, aiming to improve efficacy while reducing systemic toxicity.
MDNA113 targets IL-13Rα2, an antigen overexpressed in several hard-to-treat cancers, including pancreatic, prostate, ovarian, breast, and brain cancers, affecting over two million patients annually. This novel therapy is part of Medicenna's T-MASK platform, which employs a dual tumor-targeting/masking domain fused to an immune modulator through a protease-sensitive linker.
This design allows for the modulation of the immune modulator's potency and enhances its retention and activity within the tumor microenvironment (TME).
The preclinical data presented indicates that MDNA113 has a tunable blockade of IL-2R agonism, which reduces peripheral immune stimulation, thus enhancing tolerability. The therapy accumulates selectively in IL-13Rα2 positive tumors and shows better tolerability compared to its non-masked counterpart, supporting the possibility of higher dosing schedules.
MDNA113 demonstrated similar efficacy to the non-masked version in mouse tumor models and significantly increased survival in a breast cancer model by preventing metastasis.
Medicenna's President and CEO, Dr. Fahar Merchant, expressed satisfaction with the preclinical results, highlighting MDNA113's unique features and potential benefits. The company's T-MASK platform and MDNA113's development reflect Medicenna's commitment to improving the therapeutic index of its Superkine and BiSKIT platforms.
The poster detailing MDNA113's characterization will be available on the AACR website for conference registrants and later on Medicenna's Scientific Presentations page. Medicenna focuses on developing selective versions of IL-2, IL-4, and IL-13 Superkines and empowered superkines for cancer immunotherapy. These findings are based on a press release statement from Medicenna Therapeutics Corp.
InvestingPro Insights
As Medicenna Therapeutics Corp. (MDNA) continues to make strides in the field of immunotherapy with its MDNA113 candidate, investors and industry observers are closely monitoring the company's financial health and market performance. According to InvestingPro data, Medicenna holds a market capitalization of 82.55 million USD, reflecting the current valuation of the company in the market.
InvestingPro Tips suggest that while Medicenna's stock has recently experienced a significant decline, falling 8.6% over the last week, the company's shares have seen a remarkable recovery over longer periods, with a 115.19% return over the last year and an impressive 335.9% increase over the last six months. This volatility may interest investors looking for short-term trading opportunities or long-term growth potential.
Despite the recent stock price challenges, Medicenna's financials show that it holds more cash than debt, providing a buffer for operational flexibility. However, the company's P/E ratio stands at -7.38, indicating that it is currently not profitable.
This aligns with an InvestingPro Tip indicating that analysts do not expect the company to be profitable this year, which may be a point of consideration for investors focused on earnings.
For those seeking a deeper analysis of Medicenna Therapeutics and additional insights, InvestingPro offers a suite of tips and metrics. Currently, there are 13 additional InvestingPro Tips available for MDNA at Investing.com/pro/MDNA. For those interested in accessing these insights, use the coupon code PRONEWS24 to get an extra 10% off a yearly or biyearly Pro and Pro+ subscription.
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