On May 15, 2023 Compugen Ltd. (Nasdaq: CGEN) (TASE: CGEN) a clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy company and a pioneer in computational target discovery, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 and provided a corporate update on key events since the start of 2023 (Press release, Compugen, MAY 15, 2023, View Source [SID1234631710]).
"I am excited that we are leading the way with a unique triple combination immuno-oncology approach with potential to be the next generation of immunotherapies in a very large market with high unmet need", said Anat Cohen-Dayag, Ph.D., President, and Chief Executive Officer of Compugen. "We have already shown preliminary clinical benefit in two tumor types, typically not responding to immunotherapy, microsatellite stable colorectal cancer and platinum resistant ovarian cancer. To confirm this signal, we have initiated two proof-of-concept studies evaluating the triple blockade of PVRIG, TIGIT and PD-1 with COM701, COM902 and pembrolizumab in these indications and are on track to report initial findings by the end of the year. We believe this strategy provides the fastest route in building a path to registration and de-risk our lead assets, COM701 and COM902."
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Dr. Cohen-Dayag continued, "We continue to feed our own pipeline by leveraging our pioneering computational discovery platform. We presented new data on our lead pre-clinical asset, COM503, in an oral presentation at the recent CIMT (Free CIMT Whitepaper) annual meeting. COM503 is a differentiated, novel anti-IL-18BP antibody based approach to harness cytokine biology for anti-cancer therapeutics. By freeing the body’s own interleukin-18 to stimulate the immune system to fight cancer at the tumor site, COM503 has the potential advantage of avoiding the typical systemic toxicity associated with cytokine therapeutics".
Dr. Cohen-Dayag concluded, "We are driven by our strong belief in the potential of our differentiated assets, internal and partnered, and the opportunity to transform the lives of patients with cancer. Our $74.3 million cash balance as of March 31, 2023 re-affirms our financial discipline, with bold execution on our DNAM-1 axis hypothesis and our newly disclosed lead pre-clinical asset advancing towards IND submission next year. We have cash runway at least through the end of 2024, to support operations, reach milestones and de-risk our lead clinical assets, COM701 and COM902."
Financial Results
As of March 31, 2023, cash, cash equivalents, short-term bank deposits and restricted cash totalled approximately $74.3 million, compared with approximately $83.7 million as of December 31, 2022. The Company expects its existing cash and cash related balances to be sufficient to fund its operations at least through the end of 2024, based on its current plans.
Compugen does not have any debt.
R&D expenses for the first quarter of 2023, were approximately $7.4 million compared with approximately $7.2 million for the comparable period in 2022.
General and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2023, were approximately $2.6 million, compared with approximately $2.6 million for the comparable period in 2022.
Net loss for the first quarter of 2023, was approximately $9.3 million, or $0.11 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of approximately $9.7 million, or $0.11 per basic and diluted share, in the first quarter of 2022.
Full financial tables are included below.
Conference Call and Webcast Information
The Company will hold a conference call today, May 15, 2023, at 8:30 AM ET to review its first quarter 2023 results. To access the live conference call by telephone, please dial 1-866-744-5399 from the U.S., or +972-3-918-0644 internationally. The call will be available via live webcast through Compugen’s website, located at the following link. Following the live webcast, a replay will be available on the Company’s website.