HOLON, Israel, November 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN), a leader
in predictive discovery and development of first-in-class
therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy, today announced the
initiation of a multi-year cancer immunotherapy research
collaboration with Mount Sinai, under the direction of Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, Director of the Precision
Immunology Institute and Co-Leader of the Cancer Immunology program
and Mount Sinai Professor in Cancer Immunology at the Icahn School
of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New
York. Dr. Merad is a world-class leader in the field of
myeloid biology for the development of novel cancer immunotherapies
and is a member of Compugen's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB).
Dr. Merad said, "After joining Compugen's SAB earlier this year,
I grew more familiar with and impressed by the Company's promising
novel immuno-oncology drug target pipeline. I am looking forward to
collaborating with Compugen scientists in advancing the Company's
myeloid target candidates portfolio. Targeting myeloid biology,
through Compugen myeloid target candidates, may potentially elicit
a strong anti-tumor effect. Therapeutic development against myeloid
targets can potentially provide a solution for cancer patients
non-responsive to current treatments or serve as a combination
therapy with existing immune checkpoint inhibitors in order to
increase their response rate."
Anat Cohen-Dayag, PhD, President
and CEO of Compugen stated, "Following our fruitful multi-year
collaboration with Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine, we are pleased to announce yet another
research collaboration with a leading academic institution led by a
world-renowned expert in her field in order to further understand
and advance our novel immuno-oncology targets towards clinical
trials. We look forward to collaborating with Dr. Merad and her
team and believe that this partnership will potentially broaden our
pipeline and provide new treatment options for patients whose
disease is refractory to existing immune checkpoint inhibitors or
other treatment modalities."
The collaboration will focus on the research and target
validation of selected myeloid candidates discovered by Compugen
for their potential to serve as a basis for cancer immunotherapy
treatments, including the validation of their role in innate
immunity and involvement in tumor biology.
"Mount Sinai is a robust ecosystem for the development of
groundbreaking technologies that benefit patients on a global
scale. It's through the discoveries of talented translational
innovators like Dr. Merad that we are able to continuously improve
health outcomes," said Erik Lium,
PhD, Senior Vice President of Mount Sinai Innovation Partners.
About Myeloid Cells and
Immunotherapy
Myeloid cells are a critical component of the immunosuppressive
tumor microenvironment (TME), preventing T cells from entering the
tumor and eliciting an immune response against the tumor. Targeting
tumor myeloid cells may create an immune response towards the
cancer, which has emerged as a complimentary strategy of multiple
cancer immunotherapy approaches. This method can potentially
elucidate a strong anti-tumor effect transforming a cold, or
uninflamed tumor into a hot, or inflamed tumor. Therefore, it can
potentially provide a solution for non-responsive patients or serve
as a combination therapy with existing immune checkpoint therapies
in order to increase their response rate.
About Compugen
Compugen is a therapeutic discovery and development company
utilizing its broadly applicable predictive discovery
infrastructure to identify novel drug targets and develop
first-in-class therapeutics in the field of cancer immunotherapy.
The Company's therapeutic pipeline consists of immuno-oncology
programs against novel drug targets it has discovered, including T
cell immune checkpoints and myeloid target programs. Compugen's
business model is to selectively enter into collaborations for its
novel targets and related drug product candidates at various stages
of research and development. The Company is headquartered in
Israel, with R&D facilities in
both Israel and South San Francisco, CA. Compugen's shares are
listed on NASDAQ and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the ticker
symbol CGEN. For additional information, please visit Compugen's
corporate website at http://www.cgen.com.
About Mount Sinai Innovation Partners
(MSIP)
MSIP is responsible for driving the real-world application and
commercialization of Mount Sinai discoveries and inventions, and
the development of research partnerships with industry. Our aim is
to translate discoveries and inventions into health care products
and services that benefit patients and society. MSIP is accountable
for the full spectrum of commercialization activities required to
bring Mount Sinai inventions to life. These activities include
evaluating, patenting, marketing and licensing new technologies
building research, collaborations and partnerships with commercial
and nonprofit entities, material transfer and confidentiality,
coaching innovators to advance commercially-relevant translational
discoveries, and actively fostering an ecosystem of
entrepreneurship within the Mount Sinai research and health system
communities. For more information, visit
http://www.ip.mountsinai.org.
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," "potential," "plan," "goal," "estimate," "likely,"
"should," and "intends," and describe opinions about possible
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. Among these risks:
Compugen's business model is substantially dependent on entering
into collaboration agreements with third parties, Compugen may not
be successful in generating adequate revenues or commercializing
aspects of its business model. Moreover, the development and
commercialization of therapeutic candidates involve 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
(SEC) as well as other documents that may be subsequently filed by
Compugen from time to time with the SEC. 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.
Company contact:
Elana Holzman
Director
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Compugen Ltd.
Email: elanah@cgen.com
Tel: +972-(3)-765-8124
Investor Relations contact:
Burns McClellan, Inc.
Jill Steier
Email: jsteier@burnsmc.com
Tel: 212-213-0006
SOURCE Compugen Ltd.