TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Speaking today at the
Keystone Symposia on Tumor Immunology in Banff, Canada, Arthur
Machlenkin, PhD, Head of Immunology Group at Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN),
presented new experimental results for CGEN-15049, a novel immune
checkpoint protein discovered by the Company as a target for cancer
immunotherapy. The new data presented for CGEN-15049 demonstrate
expression of this protein on tumors isolated from ovarian cancer
patients, both on the cancer cells and on immune cells within the tumor.
Additional new data also demonstrate expression of CGEN-15049 on a
similar population of tumor infiltrating immune cells in tumor-bearing
mice. The collective data generated to date by Compugen support the
ability of CGEN-15049 to affect key components of the immune system
known to be involved in anti-tumor immune responses, supporting its
potential as a promising target for immuno-oncology antibody therapy.
Dr. Machlenkin’s presentation at the Keystone Symposia also included
experimental data for CGEN-15027, a different novel immune checkpoint
candidate discovered by the Company.
The CGEN-15049 studies presented at the conference examined expression
of this protein on cells isolated from primary tumors of ovarian cancer
patients. Expression of CGEN-15049 was observed both on cancer cells and
on tumor infiltrating myeloid cells, which have been associated with
immune suppression. Additional data demonstrate consistent expression of
CGEN-15049 on myeloid immune cells within the tumor microenvironment in
mouse cancer models.
Dr. Anat Cohen-Dayag, Compugen’s President and CEO, stated, “We are
extremely pleased by the continuing flow of new data, such as the data
being reported at this symposium, supporting expression of CGEN-15049 on
cancer cells and immune myeloid cells from ovarian cancer patients. The
data clearly demonstrate the potential for our novel checkpoint targets
to serve as very attractive targets for immunotherapy of various cancers
of high unmet need.”
About CGEN-15049
CGEN-15049 is one of eleven novel B7/CD28-like immune checkpoints
predicted in silico by Compugen. It was previously disclosed
that this target candidate has an effect on a variety of immune cells,
supporting its role as a modulator of the immune system. More
specifically, CGEN-15049 has been shown to affect immune cells such as
Natural Killer (NK) cells, which are important for innate anti-tumor
immune responses, and various T cell types that constitute a crucial
component of the adaptive immune response. The adaptive immune response
includes inhibition of cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which are responsible
for killing tumor cells, and promotion of inducible regulatory T cells,
which play a critical role in the immunosuppressive tumor
microenvironment. In addition, CGEN-15049 was shown to be expressed on a
wide variety of cancers with high clinical unmet need, such as lung,
ovarian, breast, colorectal, gastric, prostate and liver cancers. These
data support CGEN-15049’s potential as a promising target for
immuno-oncology antibody therapy.
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 lately emerged as "game changers" and promising targets for cancer
immunotherapy. Therapeutic blockade of immune checkpoints can boost
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. The blockade of immune checkpoints unleashes the
potential of the anti-tumor immune response in a fashion that is
transforming cancer therapeutics. Checkpoint-blocking antibodies have
lately demonstrated impressive clinical benefits and long-term survival,
even for end-stage patients, raising hopes that this novel approach will
lead to effective therapeutic strategies and valuable additions in the
fight against cancer.
About Compugen
Compugen is a leading drug discovery company focused on monoclonal
antibodies and therapeutic proteins to address important unmet needs in
the fields of oncology and immunology. 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 novel drug target
candidates, which are then advanced in its Pipeline Program. The
discovery and development of monoclonal antibody therapeutic candidates
against selected Compugen-discovered novel target candidates is
performed by Compugen’s wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary located in South
San Francisco. 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. 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,
including statements relating to CGEN-15049’s potential to suppress
anti-tumor immune responses, and to its potential and that of other
novel Compugen checkpoint targets to serve as promising and attractive
targets for immuno-oncology antibody therapy. 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 and other
factors are 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.