With Medicenna’s Supuerkine Program advancing rapidly, visionary therapies are within reach
Clinical-stage immunotherapy company Medicenna Therapeutics Corp. is boldly pursuing medical therapies through proprietary tools called Superkines. To me, the name Superkines sounds ambitious, and even heroic – and justifiably so.
At the core of Medicenna’s therapies are interleukins, which are engineered to be highly specific and fused with other molecules to enhance their function.
What separates Medicenna’s clinical approach is that the company uses interleukins to create Superkines: powerful and proprietary tools that can empower the body’s immune system to fight cancer, autoimmune and neuro-inflammatory diseases.
The company has not just one, but five product candidates in the pipeline to treat those conditions. And as we’ll discover, one particular treatment is moving forward quickly on the path to regulatory approval – and the stakeholders are anticipating a breakthrough in the near future.
A Closer Look at MDNA Stock
Just like a breakthrough moment could occur anytime for Medicenna, a breakout moment might be just around the corner for MDNA stock.
The stock has been trading sideways since late May of 2020, after ramping up quickly from $2.39 to more than $4 during that month.
At the close of the markets on April 6, 2021, MDNA stock settled at $4.22. The share price has moved laterally for a while, but there’s an old saying: the longer the base, the higher in space.
In other words, this could be a consolidation period in anticipation of a massive, breathtaking run-up in the share price. Just as we witnessed in May 2020, the second quarter of 2021 could have the makings of a massive bull run – and of course, you’ll want to take a position before the big move happens.
Evolutionary and Revolutionary Medicines
To put it as simply as possible, Medicenna uses directed evolution to generate engineered interleukins called Superkines. The purpose is to amplify the immune system in order to combat the most challenging diseases and inspire hope in patients with unmet needs.
Brain cancer patients would, most certainly, fit into that category. Three conditions in particular – recurrent glioblastoma, metastatic brain cancer, and pediatric glioma – collectively impact 133,500 patients annually and represent a projected market size of $2 billion.
Headquartered in Toronto, Medicenna is working aggressively to address this vast and under-treated market. Five unique product candidates round out a clinical pipeline that’s robust and ambitious:
- MDNA55: an Empowered Superkine developed as a therapeutic for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (rGBM), a uniformly fatal form of brain cancer. By using a highly specific IL-4 Superkine as the vehicle to deliver a potent bacterial toxin to the tumor cells, MDNA55 has the potential to purge bulk tumors and disrupt their supporting networks, while reactivating the immune system to tackle cancer.
- MDNA11: a long-acting IL-2 Superkine that has been fused with human recombinant albumin, which increases its half-life and minimizes dosing requirements without sacrificing efficacy and safety.
- MDNA209: a powerful IL-2 Superkine that’s similar to MDNA11, but with a crucial difference. While MDNA11 boosts the immune system into action, MDNA209 suppresses it by blocking the immune-activating signal. The mechanism of MDNA209 is suited for diseases such as autoimmune disorders where aberrant T cells are overactive and attack healthy tissue.
- MDNA413: an IL-13 Superkine with an increased affinity for the IL-13 receptor sub-unit alpha-1.
- MDNA132: a modified IL-13 Superkine that is 16 million times more likely to bind the “dummy” IL-13 receptor subunit alpha-2.
The Front-Runner
All five of these proposed therapies have groundbreaking potential. That being said, the breakout star of the group could be MDNA55.
In essence, MDNA55 is a powerful molecular Trojan Horse targeting glioblastoma. This is a condition that is woefully under-treated by currently available, relatively ineffective therapies.
The MDNA55 treatment modality involves a direct infusion into the tumor via convection-enhanced delivery. MDNA55 specifically targets the IL4R, which is expressed in brain tumors and in the tumor microenvironment, but not the healthy brain – and since it’s so highly selective, this treatment avoids off-target toxicity.
We can call MDNA55 Medicenna’s front-runner therapy as it has already completed a Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. What’s particularly promising about MDNA55 is that it’s believed to offer a sustained immune memory response, wherein anti-tumor immunity is initiated and remains active even after MDNA55 is cleared.
The next planned step is a Phase 3 clinical trial for MDNA55, involving a hybrid design using external control, pioneered by Medicenna. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for further developments as Medicanna continues to advance this much-needed, high-potential glioblastoma therapy.
The Bottom Line
Don’t get the wrong impression, as Medicanna’s pipeline is replete with novel treatments that hold tremendous promise.
But let’s not kid ourselves – MDNA55 the all-star in the clinical lineup, and current and prospective MDNA shareholders should prepare for the possibility of developments that are both game-changing and life-changing.
