Benzinga | Mar 9, 2021 09:16AM EST

Compugen Highlights Publication Of Review On Biology And Potential Therapeutic Relevance Of DNAM-1 Axis In Cancer Immunotherapy

HOLON, Israel, March 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a leader in predictive target discovery, today announced the publication of a review article titled "Therapeutic Targeting of Checkpoint Receptors within the DNAM-1 Axis" reviewing the biology and therapeutic relevance of the DNAM-1 axis in cancer immunotherapy. The peer-reviewed article, published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, was co-authored by Drew Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University and Chairman of Compugen's Scientific Advisory Board.

Article highlights include:

* Detailed overview of the DNAM-1 axis including axis checkpoint molecules: DNAM-1, TIGIT, PVRIG and CD96, along with their ligands PVR and PVRL2

* Summary of recent studies outlining the ascendancy of the DNAM-1 axis as a potential new pathway in immuno-oncology, including ongoing clinical trials evaluating therapeutic antibodies directed against TIGIT and PVRIG

* Author commentary on the rationale for testing combination regimens of DNAM-1 axis blockers in combination with PD-1/L1 agents and the overall promise of these emerging targets in cancer clinical trials

* Author discussion of the potential biomarkers that can define patient populations most likely to respond to the blockade of each checkpoint pathway



"Our discovery of PVRIG as a distinct pathway in the DNAM axis has evolved into a deep and broad understanding of this potentially foundational axis in cancer immunotherapy," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President and CEO of Compugen. "Having spent several years studying PVRIG and TIGIT, the latter of which we discovered along with others, as well as their possible synergy with the PD-1 pathway, we are proud to now share our knowledge with the scientific and healthcare communities through this comprehensive review written with Dr. Pardoll, a world-renowned immuno-oncology thought leader and one of our trusted advisors and long-term collaborators. This article provides an overview of the biology that underlies our clinical strategy addressing the DNAM axis, including evidence that supports PVRIG and TIGIT as important and distinct immunotherapy checkpoints in oncology as well as their potential to expand immuno-oncology treatment options to new patient populations. Importantly, with wholly-owned clinical candidates targeting both PVRIG and TIGIT, we are uniquely positioned to evaluate the role of the DNAM axis in the clinic, specifically with our ongoing Phase 1/2 study, evaluating the triple simultaneous blockade of PVRIG, TIGIT and PD-1."

Dr. Pardoll added, "Our long-standing partnership with Compugen has led to important contributions in the immuno-oncology space, expanding the understanding of the biology of newly discovered immune checkpoints identified by Compugen, including PVRIG and TIGIT. This review highlights the power of these discoveries in the DNAM axis, and the potential of these axis members to translate to new immuno-oncology treatments."