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
TEL AVIV, Israel I October 19, 2015 I 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.
SOURCE: Compugen
Post Views: 168
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
TEL AVIV, Israel I October 19, 2015 I 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.
SOURCE: Compugen
Post Views: 168
