Compugen Obtains Rights to Use Biological Systems and Materials

Compugen Ltd. has announced that it has obtained rights to use in-house certain biological systems and materials, developed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), for purposes of advancing the research and development of the Company’s multiple immuno-oncology programs toward future clinical evaluation.

The experimental systems and biological materials obtained from the NIH enable the engineering of human T cells to specifically recognize tumor antigens on cancer cells. Utilizing this system, with the expression of specific Compugen-discovered immune checkpoint candidates on the surface of human cancer cells, or immune T cells, will strengthen Compugen’s evaluation abilities of the effect of such immune checkpoints on anti-tumor immune response.

The NIH biological systems and materials are expected to facilitate robust and reproducible validation of Compugen’s multiple immune checkpoint target candidates and to enhance the identification of functional therapeutic antibodies and selection of lead antibodies for future clinical evaluation.

Dr. Anat Cohen-Dayag, President and Chief Executive Officer of Compugen, stated, “We are pleased to have access to these robust experimental systems and materials developed by NIH scientists, which will enhance our immuno-oncology capabilities and enable extensive testing of human antibodies. In addition, Compugen has obtained the right from the NIH to utilize a cell line that will allow the use of tumor syngeneic models that will also serve as part of Compugen’s suite of preclinical studies. Together with our recent collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, these new capabilities provide us with a broader base to swiftly advance in parallel multiple immune checkpoint programs toward the development of first-in-class biologics.”