Compugen Discloses New Results Supporting CGEN-15052 as Novel Immune Checkpoint Target Candidate for Treatment of Cancer
September 16 2015 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Data presented at the Inaugural
International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference in New York
City
In a poster presentation today at The Inaugural International
Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into
Survival, being held in New York City, Arthur Machlenkin,
Ph.D., Head of Immuno-Oncology Research at Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ:
CGEN), presented the predictive discovery and experimental
validation of certain Compugen-discovered novel drug targets for
cancer immunotherapy, and disclosed new target validation results
for one of these candidates, CGEN-15052.
Certain immune checkpoints present in the tumor microenvironment
have been shown to inhibit T cells, which are a critical component
of the anti-tumor immune response, and therefore suppress the
immune system’s ability to destroy malignant cells, thus allowing
tumor growth. The new target validation data presented at the
conference demonstrate, as expected from an immune checkpoint
target candidate, that the expression of CGEN-15052 on cancer cells
in a syngeneic mouse animal model enhances tumor growth compared
with control cancer cells. In addition, CGEN-15052 was previously
shown to bind to activated T cells and inhibit human and mouse T
cell activation. Combined with the high expression of CGEN-15052
found in the tumor microenvironment of multiple cancers, such as
lung and breast cancers, these results suggest that this
Compugen-discovered protein has the potential to serve as a highly
promising immunotherapeutic target for multiple cancer types.
“We are very pleased to report further progress in validating
CGEN-15052 as a novel immune checkpoint target candidate for the
treatment of cancer,” said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., Compugen’s
President and Chief Executive Officer. “The validation results to
date, both in vitro and in an animal setting, support the
therapeutic potential of inhibiting CGEN-15052 and thus restoring
immune response against cancer.”
Dr. Cohen-Dayag added, “The excitement being generated by the
clinical results of the few cancer immunotherapy drugs now
available highlights the need for additional immuno-oncology drugs
to treat the majority of cancer patients for whom these current
therapies are of little, if any, benefit. Therefore, the continuing
demonstration of the potential of the large number of novel immune
checkpoint target candidates discovered by the Company in a variety
of cancers and immune cell sub-types is very exciting from both a
medical and commercial standpoint.”
About Immune Checkpoints
Immune checkpoints are inhibitory receptors and their ligands,
which are crucial for the maintenance of self-tolerance (that is,
the prevention of autoimmunity) and for the protection of tissues
from damage when the immune system is responding to pathogenic
infection or other injuries. These immune checkpoints, which are
"hijacked" by tumors to block the ability of the immune system to
destroy the tumor (immune resistance), have emerged as promising
targets for cancer immunotherapy, and have shifted the treatment
paradigms for several major cancer types. Therapeutic blockade of
immune checkpoints boosts anti-tumor immunity, enabling the
patient’s immune system to recognize and attack the tumor cells,
and mount durable anti-tumor responses and tumor destruction.
Although to date the blockade of immune checkpoints has proven
effective for only a minority of patients in a limited, but growing
number of cancer types, it has provided impressive clinical
benefits, enabling long-term survival, even for end-stage patients,
and is transforming cancer therapeutics.
About Compugen
Compugen is a leading drug discovery company utilizing its
broadly applicable predictive discovery infrastructure to identify
novel drug targets and develop first-in-class biologics. The
Company’s current pipeline focus is on immune checkpoint target
candidates discovered by the Company, potentially providing the
basis for a next wave of therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy.
Compugen’s business model is based on selectively entering into
collaborations for its novel targets and drug product candidates at
various stages of research and development under revenue-sharing
agreements. The Company is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, with
R&D facilities in Tel Aviv and South San Francisco. At the US
facilities, monoclonal antibody therapeutic candidates are
discovered and developed against the Company’s novel target
candidates. 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. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
terminology such as “will,” “may,” “expects,” “anticipates,”
“believes,” and “intends,” 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
include: that Compugen’s business model is substantially dependent
on entering into collaboration agreements with third parties and
may not be successful in generating revenues, and that the
development and commercialization of therapeutic products include
many inherent risks, including failure to progress to clinical
trials or, if they progress to or enter clinical trials, failure to
receive regulatory approval. These and other factors are more fully
discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Compugen’s most recent
Annual Report on Form 20-F 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.
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Compugen Ltd.Tsipi HaitovskyGlobal Media
Liaison+972-52-598-9892tsipih@cgen.com
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