Compugen Wins on PVRIG European Patent Opposition Pursued by GSK and a Third Party

• Patent EP3258951B1, Anti-PVRIG Antibodies and Methods of Use, granted by the European Patent Office covers any anti-PVRIG antibody which activates T cells and/or NK cells for use in the treatment of cancer
• The opposition division of the European Patent Office ruled to maintain the broad claims of the patent as granted

HOLON, Israel , July 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN) (TASE: CGEN) a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a pioneer in computational target discovery, today announced that the broad claims of Compugen's Anti-PVRIG Antibodies for use in treating cancer patent granted by the European Patent Office, which had been under opposition, have been successfully maintained.

Oppositions were pursued by GSK and an anonymous opponent represented by a third party against EP3258951B1. In an oral proceedings hearing on July 11 2023, the opposition division of the European Patent Office ruled in favor of maintaining the broad claims in the patent as granted to Compugen. The opponents can appeal this decision.

"We are delighted with the decision of the opposition division of the European Patent Office ruling in favor of maintenance of the broad claims in the patent as granted, supporting our patent strategy in novel target discovery." said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President, and CEO of Compugen.

Dr. Cohen-Dayag continued, "PVRIG is a novel immune checkpoint target, discovered by Compugen and along with TIGIT and PD-1 is part of the DNAM-1 axis. Our data suggest that in certain patients and in certain tumor types there is a need to block all three pathways in the DNAM-1 axis and we are currently leading the way in evaluating the triple blockade of PVRIG in combination with TIGIT and PD-1 in two proof of concept studies in tumors typically not responsive to immunotherapy, microsatellite stable colorectal cancer and platinum resistant ovarian cancer."

Compugen was represented by Markus Rieck, LL.M., Partner, Patent Attorney, Fuchs Patentanwälte Partnerschaft mbB and Thomas Wolter, Partner, Patent Attorney, Mewburn Ellis LLP.

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 antibody targeting TIGIT for the treatment of solid tumors. Compugen also has a clinical stage partnered program, rilvegostomig (previously AZD2936), a PD-1/TIGIT bi-specific derived from COM902, in Phase 2 development by AstraZeneca through a license agreement for the development of bi-specific 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. The most advanced program, COM503 is in IND enabling studies. COM503 is a potential first-in-class, high affinity antibody which blocks the interaction between IL-18 binding protein and IL-18, thereby freeing natural IL-18 to inhibit cancer growth in the tumor microenvironment. Compugen is headquartered in Israel, with offices in 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, our belief that the decision of the opposition division of the European Patient Office ruling in favor of maintenance of the broad claims in the patent as granted, supporting our patent strategy in novel target discovery and that our data suggest that in certain patients and in certain tumor types, there is a need to block all three pathways in the DNAM-1 axis.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: In the near term, Compugen is highly dependent on the success of COM701 and of COM902; Compugen may not be able to advance its internal clinical stage programs through clinical development or manufacturing or successfully partner or commercialize them, or obtain marketing approval, either alone or with a collaborator, or may experience significant delays in doing so; Clinical development involves a lengthy and expensive process, with an uncertain outcome and Compugen may encounter substantial delays or even an inability to begin clinical trials for any specific product or may not be able to conduct or complete its trials on the timelines it expects; Compugen has limited experience in the development of therapeutic product candidates, and it may be unable to implement its business strategy. 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.

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

SOURCE Compugen Ltd.