Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN)
announced today the extension of its predictive discovery capability to
identify immunomodulatory proteins in addition to the B7/CD28-like
proteins that have been the focus of the Company’s Pipeline Program to
date. The initial utilization of this extended capability resulted in
the discovery of four novel immunomodulatory proteins predicted to act
as immune checkpoints. The newly discovered proteins have been added to
the Company’s Pipeline Program as potential targets for cancer
immunotherapy.
The new discovery capability incorporates the previously announced
predictive modeling of two distinct biological phenomena related to the
role of the immune system that are conceptually different from those
employed in the discovery of Compugen’s B7/CD28-like candidates. The
first biological phenomenon that was modeled exploits the interplay
between the immune system and intruding pathogens. As a result of such
interplay, some immune proteins tend to evolve differently. Compugen’s
scientists devised an evolutionary model to detect such immune proteins,
and the predictive algorithm was incorporated into Compugen’s discovery
infrastructure and integrated with its existing tools for the discovery
of target candidates for cancer immunotherapy.
The modeling of the second biological phenomenon relies heavily on the
Company’s MED Platform, which was employed to predict proteins that play
a role in the biology of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). TAMs are
an important component of the tumor microenvironment and play a major
role in creating the immunosuppressive environment that enables tumor
development. Proteins having the potential to modulate the tumor
microenvironment may serve as potential targets for cancer immunotherapy.
Dr. Anat Cohen-Dayag, President and CEO of Compugen, stated, “In late
2010, we selected the family of B7/CD28 immune checkpoint proteins as
the first market focused program for our predictive discovery
infrastructure, resulting from more than a decade of innovative
multidisciplinary research. During the past few years, our ability to
systematically identify novel B7/CD28-like protein candidates has been
demonstrated, despite prior and ongoing long-term discovery efforts by
others in this very important field.”
Dr. Cohen-Dayag continued, “We are of course very proud that in less
than four years, we have established a growing position in this field,
including a substantial early-stage pipeline of therapeutic product
candidates for both oncology and immunology, based largely on our
B7/CD28-like protein candidate discoveries. With today’s announcement,
we are further broadening our early-stage pipeline with additional
immunomodulatory opportunities and again demonstrating the power and
flexibility of our predictive discovery capabilities.”
About Immunomodulatory Proteins and Immune Checkpoints
Immunomodulatory proteins are proteins capable of modifying or
regulating one or more immune functions. Immune checkpoints are
immunomodulatory proteins, including inhibitory receptors and ligands,
which are crucial for the maintenance of self-tolerance (the prevention
of autoimmunity) and for the protection of tissues from damage during an
immune response. These immune checkpoints are "hijacked" by tumors to
block the ability of the immune system to destroy the tumor. 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.
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 therapeutic
proteins and monoclonal antibodies 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 product candidates,
which are then advanced in its Pipeline Program. The Company's business
model includes collaborations covering the further development and
commercialization of selected product candidates 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, California,
was established for the research and development of monoclonal antibody
therapeutic candidates against Compugen’s drug targets. For additional
information, please visit Compugen's corporate website at www.cgen.com.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements include words such as “may,” “expects,” “anticipates,”
“potential,” “believes,” and “intends,” and describe opinions about
future events. Forward-looking statements in this press release include,
but are not limited to, statements relating to the potential for
Compugen predicted immunomodulatory proteins, both B7/CD28-like and
otherwise, to function as checkpoint targets, or to be successfully
developed and/or commercialized in the form of therapeutic products or
targets for therapeutic products for immunology or for oncology. 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. These and other risks 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.
Copyright Business Wire 2014