Dual Blockade of PVRIG and TIGIT Underway in Patients With Advanced Malignancies

The investigational anti-TIGIT agent, COM902, has been administered to a patient for the first time as part of a phase 1 clinical trial evaluating COM902 in combination with the anti-PVRIG agent, COM701 in patients with advanced malignancies who have no alternative treatment options.

"This phase 1 combination study is an important component in our clinical strategy, evaluating the dual blockade of DNAM axis members PVRIG and TIGIT," said Anat Cohen-Dayag, PhD, president, and chief executive officer, Compugen, in a statement. "Our belief is that dual blockade of these distinct checkpoint pathways has the potential to expand the number of patients who respond to treatment with immunotherapy. We continue to move forward as leaders in the DNAM axis space with ongoing single, dual and triple combination clinical studies. We look forward to initial results of the COM902 monotherapy dose-escalation study expected in Q4 2021".

COM902 first demonstrated in vitro activity as monotherapy that was deemed comparable to similar anti-TIGIT therapies that are in clinical development, according to a press release from the developer, Compugen, Ltd. Investigators have hypothesized that adding COM902 o either a PVRIG inhibitor like COM701 or to PD-1 pathway blockade can enhance antitumor immune responses. This hypothesis was the result of mouse model research recently published in Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy.

Currently, about 45 patients with advanced malignancies are undergoing treatment with COM902 monotherapy in the phase 1 dose-escalation study (NCT04354246). The study’s coprimary end points include the safety and tolerability of the agent, the maximum-tolerated dose, and pharmacokinetics. The immunogenicity of COM902 is also being evaluated as a secondary end point.

Patients with a histologically or cytologically confirmed diagnosis of an advanced malignancy who have no other treatment option and are not candidates for standard therapy are eligible to enroll in the monotherapy study given they present with an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1. The study excludes patients who have received prior treatment with a TIGIT inhibitor, have symptomatic interstitial lung disease or inflammatory pneumonitis or have a history of immune-related adverse events that caused them to discontinue treatment with an immunotherapy agent.

Individuals in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas who meet the study criteria are actively being recruited at 5 cancer centers.

_Reference:

_{Compugen doses first patient in phase 1 combination study of COM902 and COM701 in patients with advanced malignancies. https://bit.ly/3kpsyns}