Compugen Announces Presentations of Results for CGEN-15001 Supporting Immune Tolerance Induction
September 29 2014 - 7:04AM
Business Wire
Data indicating novel mechanism of action
for CGEN-15001 in maintaining long-term therapeutic effect
presented at International Conference on Immune Tolerance in
Amsterdam
Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN) announced today that experimental
results supporting CGEN-15001’s induction of long-term autoimmune
disease remission in disease animal models, potentially through a
novel mechanism of action, are being presented at two sessions at
the 3rd International Conference on Immune Tolerance, now
being held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from September 28-30,
2014. The presentations are being given by Joseph R.
Podojil, PhD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of
Medicine, and by Iris Hecht, PhD, Principal Scientist at
Compugen.
In a poster presentation titled “Tolerogenic and
immunomodulatory effects in the EAE model of multiple sclerosis
induced by CGEN-15001, an Fc-fused protein derived from a novel
immune checkpoint,” Dr. Podojil disclosed data indicating that the
durable therapeutic responses to CGEN-15001 treatment, demonstrated
in disease animal models, are potentially maintained via regulatory
T cells (Tregs), which are known to play critical roles in the
maintenance of immune tolerance. These initial results were
recently generated as part of Compugen’s collaboration with Prof.
Stephen D. Miller, Professor of Microbiology-Immunology at
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where Dr.
Podojil is a Research Assistant Professor in Prof. Miller’s
research group.
Dr. Anat Cohen-Dayag, Compugen’s President and CEO, stated,
“Immune tolerance induction, which appears to be central to
CGEN-15001’s mode of action, is a highly sought goal for the
treatment of autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes,
rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis, and for
preventing transplant rejection. Drugs that restore immune
tolerance have the potential to provide long-term remission of such
diseases and conditions without compromising the ability of the
immune system to fight infectious diseases and malignancies.”
The recent experimental results being disclosed by Dr. Podojil
are based on the R-EAE mouse model of multiple sclerosis, in which
short-term administration of CGEN-15001 results in long-term
disease remission. The inactivation of Tregs in CGEN-15001 treated
R-EAE mice during the disease remission period resulted in disease
relapse, strongly suggesting that Tregs are essential for
maintenance of CGEN-15001’s long-term therapeutic effect.
Additional experimental results in the R-EAE model presented by Dr.
Podojil, using blockade of central pathways for Treg induction and
function, further support involvement of Tregs in the in vivo
mechanism of action of CGEN-15001.
The potential of CGEN-15001 to restore immune tolerance will
also be the subject of Dr. Hecht’s oral presentation at the
conference tomorrow. In her talk entitled “CGEN-15001, a novel
immune-modulatory Fc fusion protein is efficacious in models of
autoimmune diseases and induces immune tolerance,” Dr. Hecht will
present an overview of Compugen’s prior experimental results for
CGEN-15001, demonstrating long-lasting efficacy in animal models of
several autoimmune diseases. In addition, she will present data
supporting restoration of immune tolerance as a potential mechanism
of action providing such long-lasting therapeutic potential.
About Immune Tolerance
Immune tolerance is the normal state in which the immune system
is programmed to avoid attacking the body’s own cells and tissues.
When immune tolerance is compromised, the immune system can
mistakenly identify the body’s own cells or tissues as foreign
invaders, leading to various autoimmune diseases, such as type 1
diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis.
Reprogramming the immune system to re-establish tolerance, termed
tolerance induction, can lead to a sustained resolution of
auto-immunity and disease remission, as opposed to current
therapeutic approaches that rely on suppressing the immune system.
Suppression of the immune system can compromise the capacity of the
immune system to fight infectious diseases and malignancies,
leading to severe side effects. Therefore, induction and
maintenance of immune tolerance is widely recognized as a key goal
in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
About CGEN-15001
CGEN-15001 is a novel Fc fusion protein drug candidate for
autoimmune diseases, consisting of the fusion of the extracellular
region of CGEN-15001T to an IgG Fc domain. CGEN-15001T is a novel
immune checkpoint discovered by Compugen through its predictive
discovery infrastructure. CGEN-15001 was shown to be effective in
treating several autoimmune diseases in animal models, including
models of multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and
type 1 diabetes. In preclinical models, CGEN-15001 treatment has
been shown to induce a durable long-term response suggestive of
immune tolerance restoration. CGEN-15001 has also promoted graft
survival in a model of bone marrow transplantation. Further
research demonstrated that CGEN-15001 has an immune modulatory
function attenuating inflammatory responses and promoting
regulatory anti-inflammatory activity, including the promotion of
regulatory T cells.
About Compugen
Compugen is a leading drug discovery company focused on
therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies to address important
unmet needs in the fields of immunology and oncology. The
Company utilizes a broad and continuously growing integrated
infrastructure of proprietary scientific understandings and
predictive platforms, algorithms, machine learning systems and
other computational biology capabilities for the in
silico (by computer) prediction and selection of product
candidates, which are then advanced in its Pipeline Program. The
Company's business model includes collaborations covering the
further development and commercialization of product candidates at
various stages from its Pipeline Program and various forms of
research and discovery agreements, in both cases providing Compugen
with potential milestone payments and royalties on product sales or
other forms of revenue sharing. Compugen’s wholly-owned U.S.
subsidiary located in South San Francisco is developing monoclonal
antibody therapeutic candidates against its novel drug targets. For
additional information, please visit Compugen's corporate website
at www.cgen.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, including statements relating to the potential of CGEN-15001
to restore immune tolerance through the involvement of Tregs or
otherwise and the potential of drugs that restore immune tolerance
to provide long-term remission of autoimmune diseases without
compromising the ability of the immune system to fight infectious
diseases and malignancies. Forward-looking statements can be
identified by the use of terminology such as “may,” “expectations,”
“approximately,” “further” and “potential” and describe opinions
about future events. These forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of Compugen to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of
these risks and other factors are discussed in the "Risk Factors"
section of Compugen’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended
December 31, 2013 as filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, as well as other documents that may be subsequently
filed by Compugen from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. In addition, any forward-looking statements
represent Compugen’s views only as of the date of this release and
should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any
subsequent date. Compugen does not assume any obligation to update
any forward-looking statements unless required by law.
Compugen Ltd.Tsipi HaitovskyGlobal Media
Liaison+972-52-598-9892tsipih@cgen.com
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