Compugen Expands anti-PVRIG COM701 Patent Portfolio with New Composition of Matter and Use Patent in Japan

HOLON, Israel, Aug. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a pioneer in computational target discovery, announced today that the Japan Patent Office has granted Compugen a new composition of matter and use patent covering its potentially first-in-class anti-PVRIG, COM701 and backup anti-PVRIG antibodies.

Japanese patent No. 2017-562952, titled "Anti-PVRIG antibodies and Methods of Use" augments previously issued patents by expanding and protecting COM701 beyond Europe and the U.S. to include coverage in Japan.  

"As part of our strategy to secure broad patent protection for our innovative pipeline, we are delighted to be granted protection to expand the coverage of COM701 to include Japan in addition to patents previously granted in the U.S. and Europe," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President, and Chief Executive Officer of Compugen.

Japanese patent No. 2017-562952 is expected to expire no earlier than 2036.

About COM701 

COM701 is a humanized antibody that binds with high affinity to PVRIG, a novel immune checkpoint discovered computationally by Compugen, blocking the interaction with its ligand, PVRL2. In pre-clinical studies, 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. Compugen has identified PVRIG and TIGIT as key parallel and complementary inhibitory pathways in the DNAM-1 axis, which also intersect with the well-established PD-1 pathway. Research from Compugen suggests that these three pathways have different dominance in different tumor types and patients, implying that to induce effective antitumor responses, certain patient populations may require the blockade of different combinations of these three pathways. To test this hypothesis, Compugen has established a science-driven, biomarker informed clinical program, which evaluates different combinations of these axis members across tumor types. Compugen is the only company with clinical assets targeting both PVRIG and TIGIT in its portfolio allowing it to explore the potential of blocking these parallel and complementary members of the DNAM axis comprehensively to drive robust immune responses.

About Compugen

Compugen is a clinical-stage therapeutic discovery and development company utilizing its broadly applicable predictive computational discovery capabilities to identify new drug targets and biological pathways for developing cancer immunotherapies. Compugen has developed two proprietary product candidates: COM701, a potential first-in-class anti-PVRIG antibody and COM902, a potential best-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting TIGIT for the treatment of solid tumors. Partnered programs include bapotulimab, an antibody targeting ILDR2, in Phase 1 development, licensed to Bayer under a research and discovery collaboration and license agreement, and a TIGIT/PD-1 bispecific derived from COM902 (AZD2936) in Phase 1/2 development by AstraZeneca through a license agreement for the development of bispecific and multi-specific antibodies. In addition, the Company's therapeutic pipeline of early-stage immuno-oncology programs consists of programs aiming to address various mechanisms of immune resistance, including myeloid targets.  The most advanced program, a high affinity antibody, COM503 with first-in-class potential is about to enter pre-IND enabling studies. COM503 targets a soluble immune checkpoint upregulated in the tumor microenvironment in response to IFN-γ. Compugen is headquartered in Israel, with offices in South San Francisco, CA. Compugen's shares are listed on Nasdaq and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CGEN.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions of Compugen. Forward-looking statements can be identified using terminology such as "'will," "may," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "potential," "plan," "goal," "estimate," "likely," "should," "confident," and "intends," and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expected expiration date of the patent in Japan. 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: the effect of the global COVID-19 pandemic may continue to negatively impact the global economy and may also adversely affect Compugen's business; changes to the patent law that could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our product candidates; Compugen's approach to the discovery of therapeutic products is based on its proprietary computational target discovery infrastructure, which is unproven clinically; and Compugen does not know whether it will be able to discover and develop additional potential product candidates or products of commercial value. These risks and other risks 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. 

Investor Relations contact:

Yvonne Naughton, Ph.D.
Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Compugen Ltd.
Email: [email protected] 
Tel: +1 (628) 241-0071

SOURCE Compugen Ltd.