The Israeli Pharmaceutical Company Compugen , Under the management of Dr. Anat Cohen Daig, published today (Friday) its financial statements for the third quarter of the year as well as a number of results of clinical trials it conducted. The company, which uses computational biology capabilities to develop drugs in the field of cancer immunotherapy, falls by 14% With the opening of trading on Wall Street.
The company’s revenue for the quarter totaled $ 6 million it received following a milestone meeting with Astraznica, with the start of treatment of the first patient with a B-specific antibody against TIGIT based on COM902. Analysts did not expect revenue for the company this quarter so this is an improvement.
On the profit line (or rather loss) forecasts were gloomy and stood at a loss of between 13 cents per share in “optimistic” forecasts and a loss of 38 cents in pessimistic forecasts. In practice, the net loss amounted to about $ 6.2 million, which is 7 cents per share (basic and fully diluted). This is a slight reduction compared to the same period last year, when the net loss was $ 7.8 million, or 9 cents a share.
Research and development expenses in the third quarter totaled $ 8.7 million, compared to expenses of $ 5.5 million in the corresponding quarter last year. The increase in R&D expenses is mainly due to the expansion and start of additional clinical trials during 2021, as well as an increase in drug manufacturing activity.
As of September 30, CompuGen’s cash balances totaled $ 102 million, compared to $ 124 million as of December 31, 2020. This cash balance does not include an investment of approximately $ 20 million from Bristol Myers Squib (BMS) ) And not the $ 6 million milestone payment from Asterzenka expected in the fourth quarter. The company has no debt.
Observed in an experiment with anti-cancer actions
Meanwhile, the company has released data from three recent clinical trials, including a triple combination of CompuGen’s flagship drug, Com107, in combination with two BMS drugs.
Com107 is a drug that prevents the cancerous growth from acting against the immune system and preventing it from fighting it. BMS’s Opdivo drug and the famous Caitrude drug from the American soup, are examples of drugs from this group, which is considered one of the interesting drug groups in the field of cancer.
According to preliminary results from an experiment in which Com107 was tested in combination with Opdivo and another Bristol drug (BMS-986207, anti-TIGIT antibody), theThe triple obstruction is well tolerated, with a good safety and toxicity profile, and without reaching the maximum tolerance dose during the experiment. Patients’ blood tests indicated the activation of the immune system following treatment, including an increase in the activation of T cells and NK cells, the culture of T cells of the memory cell type and an increase in the level of interferon gamma. These results support activation of the immune system after the triple blockade.
The declines in Wall Street appear to be due to disappointment from another experiment, in which the success rate was only 50%. This is a phase 1 trial of dose escalation with Com902, an anti-TIGIT antibody, in which encouraging results of anti-cancer activity were observed in 9 out of 18 patients, with an optimal response of a stable disease. The treatment did not cause a decrease in white blood cells of the TIGIT-positive lymphocyte type, a result that supports Compuigen’s rationale for selecting a low-factor IgG4 antibody. Now the company is starting the phase of expanding treatment groups.
Dr. Anat Cohen-Daig, President and CEO of CompuGen, said: “The good safety and tolerability data from the triple treatment trial of the COM701 dosing phase combined with results showing strong immune system support support our DNAM axis hypothesis and are important milestones that allow us Continue to promote the examination of the triple blockade of PVRIG, TIGIT and PD-1 in selected cancers according to biological markers.
“Data from the clinical trial in the dose escalation phase of COM902 support our decision to select a low-effect anti-TIGIT antibody with encouraging early signs of anti-cancer activity in difficult patients in the dose escalation phase, and showed a good safety profile, and did not decrease immune cell population. Critical to anti-cancer activity. “