HOLON, Israel, Jan. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Compugen Ltd.
(NASDAQ: CGEN), a leader in predictive discovery and development of
first-in-class therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy, today
announced new preclinical data demonstrating distinctive features
of the PVRIG pathway and the potential of COM701, a first-in-class
therapeutic antibody candidate targeting PVRIG, for treating
multiple solid tumors. The data, presented at the Keystone Symposia
Conference, A3: T Cell Dysfunction, Cancer and Infection, being
held January 16-20, 2018, at the
Beaver Run Resort, Breckenridge,
CO, provide indication for a dominant role of the
PVRIG/TIGIT axis in cancer evasion of immune response in multiple
cancers. The data also support the Company's biomarker strategy and
clinical development program for COM701, as a monotherapy and in
combination treatment with COM902, Compugen's therapeutic antibody
candidate targeting TIGIT, and with PD-1 blockers.
The poster titled "PVRIG Expression is Associated with T Cell
Exhaustion and Synergizes with TIGIT to Inhibit Anti-Tumor
Responses" (Poster no. 2028) includes data showing higher
expression of PVRL2, the ligand for PVRIG, compared to
expression of PVR, the ligand for TIGIT, in tumor types that
include breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. These results
suggest that PVRIG may be the dominant checkpoint in diverse
patient populations with tumors that express elevated PVRL2, many
of which are not responsive to PD-1 inhibitors, and which may have
an increased likelihood of responding to COM701 as a monotherapy
treatment.
In addition, expression studies show that PVRIG and TIGIT, and
their respective ligands, are expressed in a broad variety of tumor
types, such as those noted above, as well as lung, kidney, and head
& neck cancers. These results indicate that within the same
tumor indications there are variations with respect to the
dominance of the two pathways, and that in patient populations
where the two pathways are operative, the blockade of both TIGIT
and PVRIG may be required to sufficiently stimulate an anti-tumor
immune response. The data also indicate that exhausted
tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes found in multiple tumor types
largely co-express three checkpoints, PVRIG, TIGIT and PD-1,
suggesting these tumor types may require a triple combination
treatment of COM701 with PD-1 and TIGIT blockers.
"We are very pleased to report further validation of the
potential dominance of the PVRIG pathway in many cancers, and the
progress being made with our COM701 program towards IND filing
later this quarter. We are also encouraged by results received from
the GLP toxicity study for COM701 showing it to be safe at high
doses. The preclinical studies conducted by the Company,
together with the expression profiles, underscore the
biological rationale for our clinical trial, which is
expected to begin later this year, testing COM701 as a monotherapy
and in combination with other checkpoint
inhibitors," stated Anat Cohen-Dayag, PhD, President and CEO of
Compugen. "Our Phase 1b trial protocol includes an
all-comers trial design, but with an attempt to enrich
for patients most likely to respond to COM701. We
will also employ a biomarker strategy driven by
the expression profiles we have elucidated."
Dr. Cohen-Dayag added, "Our data suggest that the
PVRIG pathway and COM701 may hold significant clinical
value as the basis of new cancer immunotherapies to
meet the needs of patient populations non-responsive or refractory
to current immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy."
The poster is available on Compugen's website at
www.cgen.com.
About COM701 and COM902
COM701 is a humanized hybridoma antibody that binds with high
affinity to PVRIG, a novel B7/CD28-like immune checkpoint target
candidate discovered by Compugen, blocking its interaction with
PVRL2. Blockade of PVRIG by COM701 has demonstrated potent,
reproducible enhancement of T cell activation, consistent with the
desired mechanism of action of activating T cells in the tumor
microenvironment to generate anti-tumor immune responses.
In addition, COM701 combined with antagonist
anti-PD-1 antibodies has demonstrated synergistic effects on human
T cell stimulation, indicating the potential of these combinations
to further enhance immune response against tumors.
COM902, Compugen's antibody targeting TIGIT, was developed for
combination use with COM701. Preclinical data strongly support the
dual blockade of the two negative costimulatory arms of the axis –
TIGIT and PVRIG – that results in a more robust T cell response to
antigen stimulation, and therefore may result in an enhanced
anti-tumor immune response.
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.
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," "confident," 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 and
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, including the
ability to finance the Company, 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
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SOURCE Compugen Ltd.