Compugen Discloses Antibody Drug Conjugate Program Results at the World ADC Summit in San Diego
October 19 2015 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Potent cytotoxic activity of antibody drug
conjugate targeting CGEN-15027 on cancer cells to be presented
along with status of additional Compugen predicted novel ADC
targets
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.
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Compugen Ltd.Tsipi HaitovskyGlobal Media
Liaison+972-52-598-9892tsipih@cgen.com
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