On August 24, 2022 Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a pioneer in computational target discovery, reported that the Japan Patent Office has granted Compugen a new composition of matter and use patent covering its potentially first-in-class anti-PVRIG, COM701 and backup anti-PVRIG antibodies (Press release, Compugen, AUG 24, 2022, View Source [SID1234618625]).
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Japanese patent No. 2017-562952, titled "Anti-PVRIG antibodies and Methods of Use" augments previously issued patents by expanding and protecting COM701 beyond Europe and the U.S. to include coverage in Japan.
"As part of our strategy to secure broad patent protection for our innovative pipeline, we are delighted to be granted protection to expand the coverage of COM701 to include Japan in addition to patents previously granted in the U.S. and Europe," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President, and Chief Executive Officer of Compugen.
Japanese patent No. 2017-562952 is expected to expire no earlier than 2036.
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. In pre-clinical studies, blockade of PVRIG by COM701 has demonstrated 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-1 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 explore the potential of blocking these parallel and complementary members of the DNAM axis comprehensively to drive robust immune responses.