On July 19, 2021 Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a leader in predictive target discovery, reported that the first patient has been dosed in the cohort expansion arm of the Phase 1/2 study evaluating the triple combination of COM701, Compugen’s first-in-class anti-PVRIG antibody, with Opdivo (nivolumab) and Bristol Myers Squibb’s investigational anti-TIGIT antibody, BMS-986207 (Press release, Compugen, JUL 19, 2021, View Source [SID1234584955]).
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"We continue to push forward as leaders in the DNAM axis space and as the only company evaluating a potential synergistic triple blockade of PVRIG, TIGIT and PD-1 in the clinic," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President and CEO of Compugen. "We believe that the future of immuno-oncology will be driven by combination therapy and this study examining our three-pathway hypothesis is an important component of our overall strategy and a key differentiator for Compugen in the TIGIT space. The study is designed to evaluate simultaneous blockade of three immune checkpoint pathways, PVRIG, TIGIT and PD-1 and test the hypothesis that blockade of both PVRIG and TIGIT, parallel DNAM pathways, may be required in certain tumor types to generate or enhance an anti-tumor immune response. The initiation of the cohort expansion phase of the study, allowing us to focus with the selected dose for expansion on specific patient populations where we believe the DNAM axis is dominant, is an important step to examine the potential benefit of this unique immunotherapy combination in a broader range of patients. We are on track to report preliminary data from the triple combination dose escalation arm of the study in the fourth quarter of this year."
Dr. Cohen-Dayag added, "We are delighted to have Bristol Myers Squibb as our partner in this study and are pleased to have their continued support and commitment to the collaboration."
The open-label Phase 1/2 trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary antitumor activity of COM701 in combination with Opdivo and BMS-986207. Additional information is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04570839).
Opdivo is a trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
About COM701
COM701 is a humanized antibody that binds with high affinity to PVRIG, a novel immune checkpoint discovered computationally by Compugen, blocking the interaction with its ligand, PVRL2. Blockade of PVRIG by COM701 has demonstrated in preclinical studies 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. Compugen has identified PVRIG and TIGIT as key parallel and complementary inhibitory pathways in the DNAM axis, which also intersect with the well-established PD-1 pathway. Research from Compugen suggests that these three pathways have different dominance in different tumor types and patients, implying that to induce effective antitumor responses, certain patient populations may require the blockade of different combinations of these three pathways. To test this hypothesis, Compugen has established a science-driven, biomarker informed clinical program, which evaluates different combinations of these axis members across tumor types. Compugen is the only company with clinical assets targeting both PVRIG and TIGIT in its portfolio allowing it to more fully exploit the potential of blocking these parallel and complementary members of the DNAM axis to drive robust immune responses.