TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ:
CGEN), a leading predictive drug discovery company, today announced
that the Company will present the status of its predictive target
discovery pipeline for novel antibody drug conjugates (ADC’s), along
with data for its newly-disclosed ADC cancer therapeutic program,
CGEN-15027, at the World
ADC Summit being held in San Diego, CA, between October 19-22, 2015.
CGEN-15027 was initially disclosed as one of the multiple immune
checkpoint target candidates discovered in the Company’s first focused
predictive discovery program. In a subsequent discovery program, the
protein was also predicted to be a potential ADC target. Further
evaluation of CGEN-15027 as a target for ADC therapy, including the
prediction and validation of high expression levels of CGEN-15027 in
lung, breast, ovarian, and pancreatic tumors as compared to normal
tissues, strengthened its potential as an ADC target. Using therapeutic
antibodies for CGEN-15027 developed at the Company’s wholly-owned
subsidiary in South San Francisco, Compugen scientists demonstrated the
ability of an exemplary ADC to mediate potent killing of cancer cell
lines expressing this protein. Taken together, the expression and
functional data provide further validation of the target, and suggest
broad first-in-class clinical opportunities for Compugen’s CGEN-15027
antibodies in treatment of multiple solid tumor types.
At the ADC Summit, the Company will also present the attributes and
validation status of additional ADC target candidates discovered by the
Company by using its predictive capabilities. The ADC targets featured
at the conference have the potential to address additional cancer
indications and patient populations, demonstrating a broad and
diversified portfolio established by the Company for this promising mode
of therapy.
"Targeted treatment of solid or hematologic tumors with ADC’s has been
shown to lead to significant clinical benefit and is an area of high
industry interest. There is a pronounced need for new ADC targets to
expand the use of this compelling approach to treat patients with
additional cancer types. Thus, we are pleased to see the diversification
of our oncology antibody pipeline with a second therapeutic modality
that has been clinically validated,” stated John Hunter, Ph.D., Vice
President, Biologics and Site Head for Compugen USA Inc., where the
Company’s antibody discovery and development activities for both
immuno-oncology and ADC therapies are centered.
Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of
Compugen, added, "This is another use of our predictive discovery
capabilities to develop new therapeutic candidates through systematic
modeling of key biological phenomena. Leveraging our differentiated in
silico discovery platforms, we were able to establish a portfolio of
ADC target programs. Our ability to predict expression patterns
is an important component of our immune checkpoint target platform, and
a critical component for ADC target discovery. As we continue to advance
our broad target candidate pipeline, this capability, along with a
growing number of complementary technologies, is applicable for multiple
potential discovery efforts.”
About Antibody Drug Conjugate (“ADC”) Cancer Therapy
ADC cancer therapy is an advanced form of chemotherapy. Unlike
traditional chemotherapies, ADC therapy relies on an antibody or an
antibody fragment that specifically binds to a target protein present on
cancer cells, to deliver a high-potency cytotoxic agent (the “payload”)
directly to the cancer cells. The principle underlying ADC therapy is
that by linking the toxic payload to the antibody against the target
protein, the payload impacts only the cells which express the target
protein. Therefore, a critical requirement for ADC targets is that they
are expressed predominately on cancer cells, and at much lower levels,
if at all, on healthy cells. This expression pattern provides the
potential to design ADC therapies to attack and destroy cancer cells,
while sparing healthy cells. Among the additional requirements for ADC
targets is the ability to be internalized into the cancer cell, where
the toxic payload is released and activated. ADC's against a number of
targets, both in solid and hematologic tumors, are in clinical
development by various biopharma companies, and two ADC products have
obtained FDA regulatory approval in the past four years.
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 primary 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. Among these risks: Compugen’s business model
is substantially dependent on entering into collaboration agreements
with third parties and may not be successful in generating revenues, and
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 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.