On May 16, 2024 Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN) (TASE: CGEN) a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a pioneer in computational target discovery, reported the online publication of a peer reviewed paper titled "PVRIG is expressed on stem-like T cells in dendritic cell-rich niches in tumors and its blockade may induce immune infiltration in non-inflamed tumors" link, in Cancer Immunology Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) (Press release, Compugen, MAY 16, 2024, View Source [SID1234643412]).
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"Increasingly, we are observing that an additional component is needed to optimize the anti-tumor response to a combination of an anti-TIGIT and anti-PD-(L)1," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President, and Chief Executive Officer of Compugen. "Through our computational discovery work at Compugen we were the first to discover the novel immune checkpoint PVRIG and later presented preclinical data on the potential synergy in blocking PVRIG, TIGIT and PD-1 pathways. Subsequently, we showed in Phase 1 studies, that the triple blockade of PVRIG with our potential first-in-class antibody, COM701 in combination with an anti-TIGIT and anti-PD-1 demonstrated durable clinical responses with a favorable safety profile in indications typically not responding to immunotherapy. These responses were associated with the infiltration and proliferation of cancer-fighting T cells in the tumor microenvironment, atypical for less inflamed indications."
Eran Ophir, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Compugen added, "Our paper published online today in Cancer Immunology Research provides an advanced understanding of the unique biology of PVRIG and its role in cancer. Using single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomic analysis, we showed the differentiated expression of PVRIG and its ligand PVRL2 on early differentiated stem like memory T cells and dendritic cells, respectively, the interaction of which plays an important role in inhibiting the recruitment and proliferation of cancer fighting T-cells in the tumor microenvironment. This unique biology of PVRIG may support a novel approach of potentially overcoming resistance to immunotherapy by sensitizing tumors to respond to other immune checkpoint inhibitors."