On February 21, 2018 Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN), a leader in predictive discovery and development of first-in-class therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2017 (Press release, Compugen, FEB 21, 2018, View Source [SID1234524095]).

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"2017 was a significant year for Compugen, in which we made important progress in advancing our therapeutic pipeline and strengthening core competencies in target discovery and validation, and therapeutic antibody development. Today there are four preclinical stage programs in our pipeline, originating from our discovery capabilities, as well as a portfolio of earlier stage programs focused on myeloid targets, a newly-rising and promising field in cancer immunotherapy. We also broadened our R&D infrastructure with a research collaboration agreement with The Mount Sinai Hospital, in addition to the collaboration we already have with John Hopkins University School of Medicine," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President and CEO of Compugen.

"We are finalizing our clinical protocol and IND application for COM701, our first-in-class therapeutic antibody candidate targeting PVRIG, and are on track to file the IND with the FDA, as planned, towards the end of the first quarter of 2018. Our Phase 1 clinical trial is expected to start later in 2018."

"Bayer is also continuing to advance the CGEN-15001T program, a novel immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting ILDR2, through late preclinical development for cancer immunotherapy, and plans to present, for the first time, data supportive of the potential of ILDR2 to serve as a promising target for cancer immunotherapy at an upcoming scientific meeting. This further demonstrates the value and success of Compugen’s computational discovery capabilities and its high-quality outputs."

"With two product-candidates against Compugen-discovered novel targets in late stage preclinical development, we are well positioned to continue executing our plan of developing first-in-class therapeutics targeted at novel pathways with the potential of generating new treatment solutions for patients unresponsive and refractory to existing immunotherapies," concluded Dr. Cohen-Dayag.

Paul Sekhri, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Compugen, added, "This is an exciting time for Compugen as we become a clinical stage company. Compugen’s uniqueness lies in its unparalleled computational discovery capabilities, coupled with expert immuno-oncology and antibody development groups and led by a strong management team, allowing for the generation of first-in-class drug opportunities and commercially valuable assets. With the recent advancements in our pipeline, I believe Compugen holds significant clinical and commercial value which will drive our future growth."

Recent highlights:
·
Announced publication of two peer-reviewed papers in The Journal of Immunology on the discovery and validation of the ILDR2 protein as a novel immune checkpoint and its use as an Fc fusion protein for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
·
Presented new preclinical data on COM701 demonstrating distinctive features of the PVRIG pathway and the potential of COM701for treating multiple solid tumors. The data presented also support the Company’s biomarker strategy and clinical development program for COM701, as a monotherapy and in combination treatment with COM902, Compugen’s therapeutic antibody candidate targeting TIGIT, and with PD-1 blockers.

Financial Results
R&D expenses for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2017 were $7.2 million and $28.6 million, respectively, compared with $6.3 million and $24.5 million for the comparable periods in 2016. The increase continues to reflect the expanded preclinical development activities involving our pipeline program candidates, mainly related to COM701 as well as COM902.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $9.3 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $8.5 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the comparable periods of 2016. Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $37.1 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $31.5 million, or $0.62 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2016.

As of December 31, 2017, cash, cash related accounts, short-term and long-term bank deposits totaled $30.4 million, compared with $61.5 million at December 31, 2016. The Company has no debt.

Conference Call and Webcast Information
Compugen will hold a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2017 results today, February 21, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. ET. To access the live conference call by telephone, please dial 1-888-668-9141 from the U.S., or +972-3-918-0610 internationally. The conference call will also be available via live webcast through Compugen’s website, located at the following link. Following the live audio webcast, a replay will be available on the Company’s website.