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

Dr. Gardner brings over 30 years of experience leading clinical development to support innovative oncology programs and translational research at global biopharmaceutical companies and major academic institutions

TORONTO and HOUSTON, Oct. 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medicenna Therapeutics Corp. (“Medicenna” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: MDNA TSX: MDNA), a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focused on the development of novel Superkines, today announced the appointment of Humphrey Gardner, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to lead the development strategy and execution of Medicenna’s clinical programs.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Gardner as Medicenna’s new CMO and member of our management team. Dr. Gardner holds remarkable leadership experiences advancing immune-based therapies for cancer and other diseases from the earliest stages of development through regulatory approvals,” said Fahar Merchant, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Medicenna. “Dr. Gardner’s expertise and dedication to our mission to create life-changing immunotherapies will be beneficial as Medicenna has started the Phase 2 dose expansion trial with MDNA11, our potential best-in-class, next-generation IL-2 super-agonist that targets solid tumors.”

“I am very pleased to join Medicenna, especially with the expected upcoming milestones for MDNA11. This Phase 2 candidate shows promising potential to overcome key challenges of first-generation IL-2 candidates. I also look forward to advancing the rest of Medicenna’s pipeline created through its Superkine platform, notably MDNA55, an empowered IL-4 Superkine for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma, which has already generated promising data in Phase 2,” said Humphrey Gardner, M.D., CMO of Medicenna. “I am honored to work with the accomplished Medicenna team and build on their differentiated science to bring transformative immunotherapies to people with cancer.”   

Dr. Gardner’s career in the biopharmaceutical industry spans over two decades. Most recently, Dr. Gardner served as CMO at Harbour BioMed advancing novel antibody and bispecific therapeutics in oncology. Previously, he was the CMO at Stingthera, CMO in Residence at Roivant Sciences and Chief of Medical Oncology at Evelo Biosciences, a Flagship Pioneering company. Prior to this, Dr. Gardner held senior roles at AstraZeneca as Clinical Vice President Translational Medicine, Oncology; Novartis as Executive Director, Oncology Translational Laboratories; and Biogen. Previously, in academia, Dr. Gardner was Assistant Professor at The Scripps Research Institute, Research Fellow at the Whitehead Institute at MIT and Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School, and he completed his internship at the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dr. Gardner is a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists and has authored nearly 100 publications. Dr. Gardner holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and his medical degree from the University of Cambridge.