On April 22, 2020 Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and leader in predictive target discovery, reported that The European Patent Office (EPO) has granted the Company a new patent for the composition of COM701 or backup antibodies for the treatment of cancer (Press release, Compugen, APR 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234556513]).

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EPO Patent No. 3295951, titled "Anti-PVRIG Antibodies and Methods of Use," covers the composition of matter for COM701 and backup antibodies including any anti-PVRIG antibody having the binding fragments of COM701 or backup antibodies for the treatment of cancer.

The patent is expected to expire in Europe no earlier than February 2036.

About COM701

COM701 is a humanized antibody that binds with high affinity to PVRIG, a novel immune checkpoint discovered computationally by Compugen, and blocks the interaction with its ligand, PVRL2. TIGIT, discovered by Compugen’s computational discovery platform in 2009, and PVRIG constitute parallel immune checkpoint pathways that counteract DNAM, a costimulatory molecule on T cells and NK cells. Preclinical data suggest that the blockade of PVRIG induces a robust anti-tumor immune response and demonstrates synergistic activity when used in combination with inhibitors of TIGIT and/or PD-1. Currently, COM701 is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical study. Data from the ongoing study have shown that COM701 is well-tolerated and demonstrated preliminary signs of anti-tumor activity in a heavily pretreated patient population.