On November 12, 2021 Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN), a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a leader in predictive target discovery, reported the presentation of new translational preliminary data detailing the differentiated profile of PVRIG compared to TIGIT and PD-1 as a novel checkpoint in the DNAM axis, supporting its potential role as a dominant checkpoint involved in stem-like memory T cells and dendritic cell (DCs) interaction at the 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper), being held on November 10-14, 2021 (Press release, Compugen, NOV 12, 2021, View Source [SID1234595490]).

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"We believe evidence is growing to consistently demonstrate that PVRIG is a novel and differentiated checkpoint with a potential unique role in cancer immunotherapy" said Eran Ophir, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Drug Discovery at Compugen. "For cancer immunotherapy to work, T cells are needed at the tumor site and recent studies suggest that early-memory (stem-like) T cells and DCs play an important role in this process. Here we show for the first-time preliminary data demonstrating greater induction of activated DC markers in the serum of two patients responding to our potentially first in class anti-PVRIG antibody, COM701, in combination with nivolumab compared to non-responders, potentially because of DC- T cell interaction. This preliminary data is in line with our recent scientific finding showing that PVRL2, the ligand of PVRIG, is abundantly expressed across DCs types, while PVRIG, measured by both gene and protein expression, is uniquely and dominantly expressed on early memory cells in contrast to TIGIT and PD-1."

Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President and CEO of Compugen, added, "These new preliminary data further support our earlier findings that PVRIG plays a distinct role within the DNAM axis which we believe is important for triggering robust immune responses in the tumor microenvironment. PVRIG blockade may lead to key mechanistic differences as compared to other DNAM axis members, namely TIGIT and PD-1, with the potential to enhance T cell proliferation and tumor infiltration to address both inflamed and less inflamed tumor types where current checkpoint inhibitors have not shown success. With our potentially first-in-class anti- PVRIG antibody, COM701, we are uniquely positioned to target the DNAM axis in combination with TIGIT and PD-1/L1 inhibitors and look forward to continued translation of these scientific learnings across our ongoing clinical programs."

Key findings from the poster presentation titled, "Novel DNAM-1 axis member, PVRIG, is potentially a dominant checkpoint involved in stem-like memory T cells – dendritic cell interaction," presented by Zoya Alteber PhD, Associate Director, Research and Drug Discovery at Compugen include:

PVRIG is co-expressed with PD-1 and TIGIT on stem-like and exhausted T cells as measured by flow cytometry across multiple tumor types
PVRIG has a unique dominant expression on early memory cells, clustering with markers of early memory T cells. In contrast, TIGIT is strongly associated with PD-1, CTLA-4, and other markers of exhausted T cells
PVRIG protein expression is significantly higher on early memory, CD28+ T cells in contrast to TIGIT and PD-1 which have comparable expression on CD28+ and CD28- cells
PVRL2, the ligand of PVRIG, is dominantly expressed on DC compared to PD-L1 and PVR, the ligand of TIGIT. This dominant expression is observed across DC1, DC2 and activated DC subtypes
Immunohistochemistry across multiple tumor types identified PVRL2 expression in tertiary lymphoid structures, the site of T cell priming, further supporting the PVRIG-PVRL2 interaction as a potentially dominant interaction for T cell activation in the tumor microenvironment
In 2 patients who responded clinically to treatment with the anti-PVRIG antibody COM701 in combination with nivolumab, early data show increased induction of activated DC markers, suggestive of an enhanced T cell – DC interaction, with the potential to enhance T cell proliferation and tumor infiltration.
The poster is available to conference attendees for the duration of the SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) conference and will be archived on the Publications section of Compugen’s website.