Compugen (NASDAQ:CGEN) outlined the clinical rationale for its COM701 antibody in platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer and described an expansion of its AI-powered discovery platform into tumor-associated antigen, or TAA, research during a company update event.
President and Chief Executive Officer Eran Ophir said COM701, a wholly owned anti-PVRIG antibody, is the company’s most advanced internal program. It is being evaluated as a maintenance monotherapy in the MAIA-ovarian adaptive platform trial in patients with second- or third-line platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. Compugen expects to report an interim progression-free survival, or PFS, analysis by the first quarter of 2027.
COM701 Maintenance Trial
Ophir said PVRIG has a distinct expression profile from other immune checkpoints, including PD-1 and TIGIT, and that blocking PVRIG may alter the tumor microenvironment in less inflamed tumors such as ovarian cancer. He cited prior clinical observations in heavily pretreated, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients, where COM701 alone and in combinations showed clinical benefit and durable responses regardless of PD-L1 status.
Compugen also said a retrospective analysis suggested that patients without liver metastases were more likely to benefit clinically from COM701. The company used those findings to inform the MAIA-ovarian design and move into an earlier maintenance setting, where patients have lower tumor burden and have not undergone as many rounds of chemotherapy.
Dr. Oladapo Yeku, lead investigator for MAIA-ovarian and a physician at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, said maintaining platinum sensitivity is a key objective in recurrent ovarian cancer. Patients whose disease recurs more than six months after platinum treatment are considered platinum sensitive and generally have more treatment options than patients whose cancer becomes platinum resistant.
Yeku said bevacizumab remains a maintenance option for some patients, but others may be ineligible because of medical contraindications, prior disease progression on the therapy or tolerability concerns. In his practice, he estimated that about 40% of potentially eligible patients may not be good candidates for bevacizumab, with that figure potentially reaching 60% in certain settings.
He also discussed antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs, as a developing treatment category in the maintenance setting. While ADCs have demonstrated activity in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, Yeku said their use can add toxicity and may not be suitable for all patients receiving maintenance treatment. He characterized COM701 as a potential option for patients seeking a lower-toxicity maintenance approach after a response to chemotherapy.
During the question-and-answer session, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michelle Mahler said ADCs have not yet been approved in the platinum-sensitive maintenance setting. She said bevacizumab would currently be an appropriate standard-of-care comparator to consider in a potential future development path for COM701. Mahler added that COM701’s tolerability could allow it to be combined with other agents.
Discovery Platform and Partnered Programs
Ophir also highlighted Compugen’s Unigen discovery platform, which combines computational analysis, biological validation and clinical learning to identify immune-oncology targets. He pointed to COM902, a TIGIT antibody discovered by Compugen that became the TIGIT component of AstraZeneca’s rilvegostomig bispecific antibody.
According to Compugen, AstraZeneca is evaluating rilvegostomig in 12 Phase III trials. Compugen said it is eligible to receive up to $195 million in regulatory and commercial milestones and mid-single-digit royalties. AstraZeneca has previously projected non-risk-adjusted peak-year revenue above $5 billion for rilvegostomig, Ophir said.
The company also discussed GS-0321, formerly COM503, which it licensed to Gilead Sciences in 2023. The program targets IL-18 binding protein. Compugen said it has received $90 million from Gilead, including $60 million upfront and $30 million following IND acceptance, and could receive up to an additional $758 million in milestones plus single- to low-double-digit royalties on future worldwide net sales.
UniGenX Expands Into Tumor-Associated Antigens
Dr. Sharon Kredo-Russo, Compugen’s senior vice president of research and discovery, introduced UniGenX, an expansion of Unigen focused on discovering novel TAAs. These targets can direct therapies toward tumor cells and may support modalities including T-cell engagers, targeted immune-activation approaches and ADCs.
Kredo-Russo said the platform evaluates targets across multiple data types, including genomic data, bulk RNA sequencing, single-cell transcriptomics, proteomics and spatial biology. The company said its analysis incorporates information from more than 100 million single cells across cancer types, thousands of tumor and normal proteomic samples, and a proprietary atlas spanning more than 100 healthy cell types.
Compugen is also assessing paired-target strategies. In an “AND-gated” approach, two targets would need to be present on the same cancer cell to improve selectivity and reduce healthy-tissue exposure. In an “OR-gated” approach, either of two targets could support tumor-cell killing to broaden coverage and potentially address resistance linked to loss of a single target.
Kredo-Russo said several target candidates have been prioritized for additional experimental validation, though the company did not disclose new targets or timelines for advancing them. Ophir said future programs could be advanced internally or through partnerships depending on what Compugen determines is appropriate for each asset.
About Compugen (NASDAQ:CGEN)
Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics for cancer and other diseases involving the immune system. The company uses computational biology and artificial intelligence-driven approaches to identify potential drug targets and develop antibody-based immunotherapies designed to restore or enhance the immune system’s ability to recognize and attack tumors.
Compugen’s pipeline has included investigational immune checkpoint and immuno-oncology programs, including COM701, an antibody targeting PVRIG, and COM902, an antibody targeting TIGIT.
