Compugen to Present COM701 Checkpoint Product Candidate for Immuno-Oncology at ASCO

HOLON, Israel, May 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN), a therapeutic discovery company, announced today that COM701, an antibody product candidate being developed by the Company for immuno-oncology, will be the subject of a poster presentation at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, to take place June 2-6, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Abstract 3074, Monday, June 5, 8:00-11:30 am CT, location: Hall A)

The focus of the presentation will be previously undisclosed preclinical results for COM701 supporting the rationale for its clinical use in cancer immunotherapy. COM701 targets PVRIG, a novel immune checkpoint identified through the Company's computational discovery platform. PVRIG functions as an inhibitory T cell regulator in the well-known TIGIT axis, suggesting that COM701 may offer both monotherapy and combination therapy opportunities.

Following the presentation, the poster will be available on Compugen's website at http://www.cgen.com.

About COM701 

COM701 is the lead therapeutic candidate targeting PVRIG, a novel B7/CD28-like immune checkpoint target candidate discovered by Compugen. COM701 is a humanized hybridoma antibody that binds to PVRIG with high affinity and blocks its interaction with PVRL2. Blockade of PVRL2 binding by COM701 results in 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. Consistent with the placement of PVRIG in the TIGIT axis, COM701 combined with antagonist anti-TIGIT antibodies has an additive effect on human T cell stimulation, indicating the potential of the combination to generate enhanced immune response against the cancer. IND-filing for COM701 is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2017.

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: susannac@cgen.com
Tel: +1(650)263-7001

SOURCE Compugen Ltd.