On April 27, 2021 Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a leader in predictive target discovery, reported the publication of a peer-reviewed article titled "COM902, a Novel Therapeutic Antibody Targeting TIGIT Augments Anti-Tumor T Cell Function in Combination with PVRIG or PD-1 Pathway Blockade" in Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy (Press release, Compugen, APR 27, 2021, View Source [SID1234578592]). The preclinical data discussed in the paper highlight the potential of COM902, Compugen’s anti-TIGIT therapeutic antibody, to enhance anti-tumor immune responses.
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
Article highlights include:
Development and characterization of COM902, a fully human anti-TIGIT antibody which binds specifically to TIGIT and disrupts the binding of TIGIT with PVR, the cognate ligand of TIGIT
Expression of TIGIT, a checkpoint within the DNAM-1 axis discovered in 2009 by Compugen and others, is induced on lymphocytes infiltrating the tumor microenvironment, including Tregs, effector T cells, and NK cells in diverse solid tumors
PVR is expressed in a large set of solid tumors
COM902, designed to have reduced Fc receptor engagement to avoid potential depletion of TIGIT-expressing effector T cells, does not demonstrate T cell depletion activity in-vitro or in-vivo, making it unlikely to elicit direct depletion of TIGIT-expressing effector T cells, which are important for anti-tumor activity
Blockade of TIGIT/PVR binding by COM902 enhances human T and NK cell function in vitro. This effect can be increased by dual blockade of COM902 with either an anti-PVRIG antibody, COM701, or an anti-PD-1 antibody
In vivo, in murine tumor models, COM902 combined with anti-PVRIG or anti-PD-L1 antibodies enhances anti-tumor lymphocyte responses and inhibits tumor growth
"This publication offers further validation of TIGIT as a potential novel target for cancer immunotherapies," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President and CEO of Compugen. "These published data answer fundamental questions regarding TIGIT’s biology and demonstrate potential synergies with other immune checkpoints. Excitingly, we have observed the amplification of anti-tumor immune responses after dual blockade of TIGIT with either PVRIG or PD-1, which validates our clinical strategy to pursue combination approaches targeting these checkpoints. Furthermore, these data provide additional support that COM902 has the potential to improve outcomes for patients with advanced malignancies, expanding the reach of checkpoint inhibitors."
COM902 is currently being studied as monotherapy in a Phase 1 trial of patients with advanced malignancies (NCT04354246). The trial, which was initiated in 2020, is on track to report initial data in Q4 2021. In addition, the initiation of the dual combination study of COM701 with COM902 is expected as planned in H2 2021.