Compugen Presents New Research Suggesting Targeting DNAM-1 Axis Holds Promise for Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

- First time to demonstrate dominant expression of DNAM-1 axis receptors PVRIG and TIGIT, compared to PD-1, on T and NK cells in bone marrow of multiple myeloma patients
- Data show PVRIG is the most dominant immune checkpoint in these patients
- Majority of T and NK cells co-expressed PVRIG and TIGIT, suggesting that combined blockade of PVRIG and TIGIT may benefit patients with multiple myeloma

HOLON, Israel, March 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN),("Compugen," the "Company"), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a pioneer in computational target discovery, today announced the presentation of new research suggesting that targeting PVRIG and TIGIT holds promise for treating multiple myeloma. The research on the expression of PVRIG and TIGIT pathway in the bone marrow of multiple myeloma patients conducted in collaboration with Dr. James Berenson and his team at the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research, will be presented as a poster at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting to take place on April 8-13, 2022, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

"We continue to lead groundbreaking research on the biology of the key targets of the DNAM-1 axis PVRIG and TIGIT. The data we will present at the AACR annual meeting places the DNAM-1 axis as a potential dominant therapeutic pathway in multiple myeloma, where immunotherapy has shown limited success. The data demonstrate the potential of combining TIGIT and PVRIG inhibitors in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President and CEO of Compugen. "These data support our hypothesis that therapies targeting the DNAM-1 axis may provide new treatment options for certain cancer patients."

Poster details

• Presentation Date: April 10, 2022
• Poster Number: Poster #4934
• Session Title: Immune Checkpoints
• Poster Title: The expression of the PVRIG/TIGIT pathway is dominant in the bone marrow of patients with multiple myeloma

The abstract is available on Compugen's website at www.cgen.com.

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, for the treatment of solid tumors, is undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials as a single agent and in dual, and triple combinations; COM902, a potential best-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting TIGIT for the treatment of solid and hematological tumors, is undergoing Phase 1 clinical trials as a single agent and in dual combination with COM701. 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 AZD2939, an anti TIGIT/PD-1 bispecific antibody developed by AstraZeneca with a TIGIT component that is derived from the COM902 program pursuant to an exclusive license agreement between Compugen and AstraZeneca and is in Phase 1/2. 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. 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 our belief that the data we will present at the AACR place the DNAM-1 axis as a potential dominant therapeutic pathway in multiple myeloma, that the data demonstrate the potential of combining TIGIT and PVRIG inhibitors in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma and that these data support our hypothesis that therapies targeting the DNAM-1 axis may provide new treatment options for cancer patients. 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: ir@cgen.com 
Tel.: +1 (628) 241-0071 

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SOURCE Compugen Ltd.