Compugen Announces Addition of Prof. Miriam Merad to Its Scientific Advisory Board

HOLON, Israel, March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN), a leading therapeutic discovery company, announced today that Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, Director of the Precision Immunology Institute and Co-Leader of the Cancer Immunology program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, has joined Compugen's Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Prof. Merad brings vast myeloid biology expertise to the Company. The recent addition of novel myeloid targets to the Company's immuno-oncology pipeline has significantly expanded its scope and breadth, in which its most advanced product candidates target T cell immune checkpoints.

Prof. Merad stated, "I am excited to join Compugen's SAB and assist in advancing the Company's novel and promising immuno-oncology drug target portfolio. Increasing evidence has revealed that myeloid cells have a key role in the tumor microenvironment and continues to validate it as a compelling area for therapeutic development."

Anat Cohen-Dayag, PhD, CEO and President of Compugen, commented, "We are pleased to welcome Prof. Merad, an international leader in the field of myeloid biology, to our SAB. Development of myeloid therapeutics complements our T cell immune checkpoint candidates, and will allow us to attack tumors on multiple fronts. Prof. Merad's focus on harnessing the innate immune system and myeloid biology to develop novel therapies against cancer and inflammatory diseases is a valuable addition to our SAB, as we extend our proven predictive target discovery expertise in immune checkpoints to myeloid targets."

Prof. Merad's research studies the mechanisms that regulate the development and function of innate myeloid cells including dendritic cells and macrophages, with a focus on identifying the contribution of these cells to the development and progression of tumor lesions. This includes examining the contribution of tumor infiltrating macrophages to tumor progression and response to conventional and targeted therapies. She has authored more than 150 primary papers and review articles in high profile journals for her studies on dendritic cells and macrophage biology in mice and humans.

Prof. Merad was trained as an oncologist in France and obtained her PhD in immunology at Stanford University and the University of Paris VII. She joined the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2004 and was promoted to the rank of Full Professor in 2010. In 2010 Prof. Merad became the program leader of the Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy Program at The Tisch Cancer Institute and the director of the Human Immunomonitoring Center. In 2016 she became the director of the Precision Immunology Institute.

About Compugen 

Compugen is a leading therapeutic discovery company whose mission is to utilize its broadly applicable predictive discovery infrastructure to discover novel drug targets and develop first-in-class therapeutics. Our current pipeline consists of early and preclinical stage immuno-oncology programs based on novel drug targets discovered internally, primarily immune checkpoint and myeloid protein target candidates. These programs focus on the development of first-in-class cancer immunotherapy drugs with the potential to harness the immune system to provide treatment solutions in areas of unmet medical need in various cancer types and patient populations, both as monotherapy and in combination with other drugs. In addition, our pipeline currently includes a preclinical fusion protein autoimmune product candidate. Compugen's business model is based on selectively entering into collaborations for its novel target candidates and related drug product candidates at various stages of research and development under revenue-sharing agreements. The Company is headquartered in Israel, with R&D facilities in Israel and South San Francisco. At the US facilities, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies are discovered and developed against the Company's novel drug target candidates. For additional information, please visit Compugen's corporate website at http://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," "potential," and "intends," and describe opinions about possible 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 Compugen may not be successful in generating adequate revenues or commercializing aspects of its business model. Moreover, 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 (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:
Susanna Chau
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Compugen
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +1(650)263-7001

SOURCE Compugen Ltd.