Compugen Ltd. (NASDAQ: CGEN) announced today the discovery and
experimental validation of CGEN-15001 for the treatment of autoimmune
disorders. CGEN-15001 is the extracellular region of a previously
unknown membrane protein in the B7/CD28 family. The existence and
potential utility of the newly discovered parent protein from which
CGEN-15001 is derived was predicted in silico utilizing
Compugen’s LEADS Platform and other proprietary algorithms.
Autoimmune diseases develop when defects in the immune system lead the
body to attack its own cells, tissues, and organs and include more than
80 chronic, and often disabling, illnesses. Among the most common
autoimmune diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus
erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and type
1 diabetes. Collectively, autoimmune diseases are among the most
prevalent diseases, affecting an estimated 25 million people in the U.S.
CGEN-15001 is a novel soluble recombinant fusion protein corresponding
to the extracellular region of the Compugen discovered parent protein.
The discovery of the parent protein, which is a membrane protein, was
accomplished through the incorporation in Compugen’s LEADS Platform of
additional algorithms specifically designed to predict novel members of
the B7/CD28 family of co-stimulatory proteins. This approach relied on
Compugen’s proprietary understandings and modeling of genomic structure,
gene expression, protein structural domains, and cellular localization.
Compugen has filed for patent coverage on both the parent protein, which
potentially has other medical uses such as a target for antibody
therapeutics, and CGEN-15001.
The in vivo validation of CGEN-15001 utilized a mouse model of
multiple sclerosis, relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune
encephalomyelitis (R-EAE). In this model, administration of CGEN-15001
resulted in potent amelioration of the disease state. These results
indicate that CGEN-15001 could have therapeutic utility for the
treatment of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases, such as
rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, inflammatory bowel
disease, and type 1 diabetes. Earlier in vitro studies validated
the predicted functional activity of CGEN-15001 as a new member of the
B7/CD28 family proteins.