Compugen Announces Expansion of Research Collaboration with Johns Hopkins University for a Novel Myeloid Target Discovered by Compugen

On May 10, 2021 Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a leader in predictive target discovery, reported that it has expanded its research collaboration with Johns Hopkins University to include studies investigating the biology of a novel myeloid target that was computationally-discovered by Compugen (Press release, Compugen, MAY 10, 2021, View Source [SID1234579623]). Initial preclinical studies demonstrate the potential of this target to serve as a novel myeloid immunomodulator, with significant tumor growth inhibition observed upon genetic deletion in in-vivo studies.

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The research program, headed by Jelani Chinelo Zarif, M.S., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Oncology and Drew Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Oncology, both at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will explore the biological function and mechanism of this novel target, which is expressed on myeloid cells and macrophages in various cancers. The expanded research plan is intended to further evaluate and validate the role of the target in various tumors.

"We continue to invest in our early-stage programs, which serve as our pipeline growth engine and remain a high priority for Compugen," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President and CEO of Compugen. "Our collaboration with Johns Hopkins has played an important role in the development of our clinical stage asset, COM701, and we are thrilled to expand this collaboration to deepen our biological understanding of this novel myeloid target selected from our early-stage pipeline. We hope that these studies will provide a strong biological foundation to support the future development of a new, potentially first-in-class, therapeutic program, which may diversify our immuno-oncology pipeline programs and offer a new treatment opportunity for cancer patients."