Compugen announced The European Patent Office (EPO) has granted a new patent covering the composition of matter and use of COM902, its immuno-oncology therapeutic antibody targeting TIGIT. EPO Patent No. EP3347379, titled "Anti-TIGIT antibodies, anti-PVRIG antibodies and combinations thereof," relates to the composition of matter of COM902, alone or in combination with a second antibody targeting an immune checkpoint, including PD-1 and PVRIG (specifically COM701). The patent further relates to COM902 for use in treating cancer by activating T cells, a key driver of immune stimulation and cancer immunotherapy treatments.
The patent is expected to expire in Europe no earlier than August 2037.
This patent further expands the intellectual property portfolio of COM902 for which a patent has been previously issued in November 2018 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office relating to the method of use of COM902 for activating T cells in cancer patients, in addition to claims covering the combination of COM902 and COM701, for activating T cells in cancer patients.
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COM902, a high affinity, fully human antibody targeting TIGIT, was developed for combination treatment with COM701. Preclinical data demonstrate that TIGIT inhibition, either alone or in combination with other checkpoint inhibitors, can enhance T cell activation and increase anti-tumor immune responses. Parallel inhibition of TIGIT and PVRIG, the two coinhibitory arms of the DNAM-1 axis, results in synergistic effects on effector T cell function and tumor growth inhibition in various model systems that can be further increased with the addition of PD-1 blockade. Based on preclinical data these combinations may be clinically important for enhancing anti-tumor immune response and expanding the patient population responsive to checkpoint inhibition. The Company plans to initiate Phase 1 studies in patients with advanced malignancies in early 2020 pursuant to the FDA's clearance of an investigational new drug application in October 2019.
Compugen discovered TIGIT in 2009 leveraging its immune checkpoint computational discovery platform through which PVRIG was discovered. The TIGT discovery was published by Compugen in October 2009 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).